


This is Hell

by Redfield



Series: Hell is another Universe [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Confused Rick Grimes, F/M, Gen, Hurt Merle Dixon, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Lori Grimes Bashing, Lori Grimes Being an Asshole, Older Man/Younger Woman, Original Character(s), POV Alternating, Past Child Abuse, Redemption for many characters, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:34:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 25
Words: 55,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24080650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redfield/pseuds/Redfield
Summary: Jenna Redfern had no one in her life. She was alone, depressed, and hurting. Before she took her own life, she watched her family's favorite show "The Walking Dead." As she went into death's embrace...she was not expecting to wake up in the goddamn show?! On top of that, she has been thrown back towards the beginning....and she lost ten years on her age. Can she change the fate of the cast of the Walking Dead?
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s), Lori Grimes/Shane Walsh, Rick Grimes/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Hell is another Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963432
Comments: 157
Kudos: 350





	1. Chapter 1

_Jenna Redfern didn’t feel the phone dropping from her hand. She didn’t feel the cold tile of the bathroom on her nude knees or the wet splat of a drenched towel falling away._

_“…Miss Redfern, can you hear me?” the lady on the phone asked. Scrambling to pick up the device, she replied._

_“I heard you. thank you for informing me.” she hung up, and curled her legs close to her naked body. In silence, she wept. Overheard on the tv in the next room, the newscaster gave his report on the homicide/suicide of Alice Redfern, Barbie Redfern, and thirteen others._

~~~…

That was three years ago. At now 25, she was alone. When her mother killed the whole family with poisoned food, she left out Jenna. Jenna didn’t know if it was a mercy or not.

So here she was, three years later, watching a rerun of her little niece’s favorite horror, “The Walking Dead.” Thanks to Netflix, she was watching the show from the beginning, making snide remarks in her head on comparing them to the comics. As Rick Grimes, the protagonist, fell to the floor from a gunshot, Jenna looked at the bottle of Trazodone, all thirty pills empty.

“I’m sorry, mama. I couldn’t be strong anymore…” the weight of sleep beckoned her, and she answered it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TWD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a loud gasp, Jenna scrambled out of the hospital bed, coughing as a film of dust was disturbed. Confused, she looked out the window. a fat pie tree with marshmallow flowers rustled in an invisible wind.

“Magnolias? There are no magnolia trees in Montana. Jesus, it’s hot!” wrestling out of the dirty gown, Jenna frowned as she stood in only a worn-out bra and panties, her plush and plump body pale from the lack of UV rays.

“It’s quiet…way too quiet for a psych ward,” she mumbled to herself. Heading towards a cabinet, she grinned as minty green scrubs, albeit dusty, waiting to be worn. donning the clothes, and some of those stupid slipper socks, she walked out of the room.

The hallway made her wretch as she saw what must have been a nurse but missing half her head. The stink of rotting meat clung to her like a hot veil as she found a mask and a bottle of perfume. Soaking the mask in the perfume, she slipped it on, earning light relief from the odor. More bodies decorated the halls as she left the ward. Passing through the ICU, Jenna paused as she heard a man weakly call for a nurse. She felt a niggling in her brain. Something about this hellhole was familiar. There seemed to be more carnage on this floor. To her right, a door opened, and out came tumbling a worn-out looking man. Jenna felt her jaw dropped.

“Rick Grimes?” she stammered. the man turned to stare at her.

“Are you a nurse?” he asked, his southern drawl hoarse from the lack of use. Jenna snapped her mouth shut.

“No, I’m a patient too…I think. Oh God, I’m in hell!” Jenna began to pull at her oily hair, grimacing at the grime on her scalp. She started to pace. Rick just watched her.

“Miss, you okay?” he asked, making her pause in her panic. Jenna stopped, took several deep breaths, and slumped to the floor.

“I…uh. You are not going to believe me,” she said, noting the tinge of hysteria in her voice. Rick winced but settled on the dirty floor next to her.

“Try me,” he replied. Jenna fretted her lip. She can’t tell him the complete truth, that he was a tv show character.

“First thing…What’s the year?” she asked, giving him a stupid smile of hope. Rick glanced at his wrist, the odd paper cloth bracelet still around his bony wrist.

“According to this thing, It’s 2010.” Jenna let her head fall in defeat.

“Fuck… Okay, I can work with this,” she stated. Rick was still watching her. Taking a big breath, she lifted her head.

“I’m not from here. This world. I definitely know I ain’t from Georgia. And I ain’t even from this year.” she started. Rick gave her a weird look.

“…uh huh. Where were you when you woke up?” he asked. Jenna scowled. She got the notion he was humoring her.

“I was in the psych ward.” That was not going to help her case. She has to do something drastic. Rick sighed and began to stand.

“Wait! Your wife is name Lori, you have a son not even in puberty yet, and you were shot two months ago!” Rick stopped and slipped back down to sit.

“How the hell did you know that?” he asked. Jenna took another deep breath.

“I told you, I’ve seen this all before. I know more.” Rick waited for her to continue.

“Your Name is Rick Grimes, a Sherriff’s deputy of King County Georgia. You were shot because you didn’t see the third guy on the chase you were on. You have a brother named Jeff, and he is in Spain. He used to call you Richie, which you loved, but never told him. You and your wife argued before you got shot that day, and you were more pissed that she said that in front of your son. You told this all to Shane…” she trailed off at the mention of Shane. Rick ran his hands through his hair.

“What else? Do you know what is going on?” Jenna nodded.

“I can help. but you have to stay calm. The first thing to do is gather as much medicine as we can. Vitamins, painkillers, antibiotics, bandages. But first…” her stomach growled at that time. “Let’s find some food and water.” Rick nodded and struggled to get up. Jenna helped him to his feet. She offered her shoulder for him to lean on but groaned as she realized the height difference. Rick chuckled at the issue.

“I forgot, It’s ten years ago for me… I’m 15 again!!!” she bemoaned. Rick chuckled.

“So, the place you are from, its 2020?” he asked. Jenna nodded.

“Well, since I am not in my universe, I guess it won’t hurt for me to tell you a few things. What do you want to know?” she asked, finding a crutch for the still weakened man to use.

“Hmm…Who is the president?” Jenna bit back a laugh.

“…What is your opinion on Donald Trump?” she asked. Rick gasped.

“No…” he exclaimed. Jenna grinned.

“Oh yes. In my world we are…I guess were, In the middle of a pandemic. and President Trump declared it a state of emergency. The whole world went on lockdown.” she explained. stopping for a minute, Jenna found a tipped-over vending machine. It was full of water and now stale chips. Better than nothing. Now to find a way to get the treasure.

“What else happened in 2020?” Rick asked, still curious about the girl from the future. Jenna decided to use a high heel from a corpse to break the thick plastic. It didn’t work.

“Huh? Oh… Well, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter with his daughter and her friends. Steve Irwin’s daughter got hitched, About 90% of Australia burnt down and we almost entered WWIII. Those are the main events so far. It was only May when I…” Jenna trailed off. Rick placed a soft hand on the girl’s broad shoulders.

“What happened? Is it how you ended up here?” he said, voice soft. Jenna bowed her head in shame, but she nodded.

“I think so. I…I think I succeeded in killing myself. I died, and ended up here.” Rick winced as he knelt in front of the girl, placing a rough hand on hers.

“Hey now. You must have been brought here for a reason. If your suicide made you wake up here, there must be a reason why.” Jenna smiled at the older man.

“Okay…Hey, can I borrow the crutch?” she asked. Rick traded places with Jenna, who then used the implement to break the plastic on the machine. Jenna pumped her fist in glee. Rick smiled too. Pulling out two bottles of water, and a bag of stale corn chips, the two only living people fueled their weary bodies.

~~~…

Rick watched the young girl grab a large purse and filling it with medicine and bandages. She grabbed a lot of antibiotics and painkillers, multivitamins, and prenatal medicine. She stuffed the bag with bandages and tape and a handful of hand sanitizer napkins. Rick was given a large duffle bag and he filled it with the contents of the vending machine. he found warm juices and crackers and grabbed those too.

“So…I’ve forgotten to ask. What exactly is going on here?” Rick said as he watched the girl, whose name he didn’t know yet. The girl was finishing on gathering the medicine.

“Oh. Well, there is this virus that reanimates the dead into, well for the lack of a better word, zombies. Even blowing them apart, they still move. You have to pierce the brain or at least damage the head so bad, the brain gets destroyed anyway. It spread so fast, the modern world collapsed. We are living in the 1800s again. A bit better medicine though.” Rick whistled softly through his teeth.

“Damn. Anything else I should know?” he asked. The girl found a broom handle and broke off the head, making it into a spear. She found a mop and did the same, handing it to Rick.

“Well, they are attracted to sound, strong smells, and movement. And the fresher they are, the faster and more dangerous they are. And they seem to like traveling in herds. any more than three, if you aren’t in a group…run. If you are bitten, you are doomed. But if it’s possible, amputation can save your life. I think that is everything about the Walkers.” The girl then motioned for the older man to follow her.

As they slipped into the hot Georgia sun, Rick saw a row of covered bodies. The girl paused as Rick did.

“Don’t think about the unlucky. They didn’t suffer. Take relief in that.” she told him. Rick swallowed a lump in his throat as he noticed one of the covered bodies was too small for an adult. He nodded but followed the girl from the future.

“Well, you know who I am. What’s your name? I forgot to ask.” Rick said as the girl opened the door to an old army jeep.

“I never told you? huh. Well, my name Jenna. Jenna Redfern. Now then, lets head to your house to gather supplies. If I am remembering correctly, you and I were in the hospital for about a week alone. So your family should be heading towards Atlanta.” Jenna gave the man a smile to soothe his nerves.

“Okay. You know what’s going on, So, it pretty clear you should lead.” He hopped into the car, and kinda chuckled as he saw Jenna plop her head on the steering wheel.

“Ugh…I’m too damn short to reach the brakes.” Rick laughed but traded places with the girl. Jenna was blushing but remained silent. The two then drove towards Rick’s home


	2. Chapter 2

Rick pulled into his driveway, the house was vacant of life. Parking the car, he stepped out, Jenna following him.

“You sure they’ll be in Atlanta?” he asked the girl. Jenna nodded.

“Not in the city per se, considering it’s a mass graveyard too, but nearby at some gully. I think it’s a quarry,” she stated.

“You think? I thought you knew?” Jenna glared at the man, making her seem more like a disgruntled kitten. He fought back a snort of laughter.

“I never have seen a quarry, So, that’s why I said I think it’s a quarry. All I know there is a pond-like base of water and decent hunting ground.” Jenna let out a sigh and stretched her arms. Rick opened the door to his house, the silence seeming louder than the area around it. Not knowing what to do next, Jenna sat down on the couch, her hands folded in her lap. Rick went towards his bedroom and changed into his clothes. He found some of Lori’s missing and a few pictures. Grabbing some of the clothes that were left behind, Rick walked back into the living room, handing some of the clothes to Jenna.

“I don’t know if you will fit them, but I think you’ll prefer these to scrubs.” Jenna smiled at him and stood to gather the clothes.

“Thank you. Listen, while I start getting dressed, you fill up the jeep with canned and dried foods, blankets, and anything you can use as a weapon besides a firearm. Once I’m dressed, I’ll help you gather a few things around the house that can be useful. Books, journals, things like that.” Jenna waited for Rick to say something.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Rick stated. Jenna smiled and hurried to another room to change.

~~~…

Lori’s clothes were smaller than she thought. Jenna huffed as her endowed chest strained against the fabric. He thighs were meatier than Lori’s too.

“Fuuuuck! I hate being tiny and curvy at the same damn time!” Jenna whined. She hung her head.

“How the hell do curvy girls find clothes in zombie land?” she snipped. Thank god it was a button-up blouse, So Jenna did every button but the last three top ones. As for the damn pants…She’ll have to endure. Dressed in clean clothes, Jenna went searching for her protagonist. She found him in the kitchen, staring at several large cans of chili and spaghetti-Os.

“Rick, If it’s still good, grab it. Grab all the canned food. Is there anything you want me to grab while you food hunt?” she asked. Rick turned to the girl.

“Nah, But can you see if there are some old cub scout books in the living room? Something tells me that it will be handy for any kids we end up meeting. Besides, Carl might enjoy learning a few things from it.” Jenna chuckled.

“If we take time to recuperate here, another survivor and his kid will come to check out some sounds,” Jenna replied. Rick gave her an odd look.

“What sounds?” Jenna gave him a crooked, maniacal grin. She then slipped outside and took a large breath. She opened her mouth and began to vocalize.

~~~~….

“This girl is insane.” Watching from behind a tree, a skinny black boy watched as the older girl sung like a Disney princess. He held a shovel as she kept on singing. A walker was lumbering his way behind her. She kept on singing. With a whine like a growl, he bolted and smacked in the front face of the walker.

“Hey, Duane Jones. That’s your name, right? awesome. Now, if I am remembering right, your daddy should be close by.” The girl smiled at him. Duane gave the girl a weird look. The girl then spun in her...slippers? and headed for a pristine looking house.

“Rick! I found one of the survivors. Start loading up the car!” she yelled, her voice loud enough to draw out a man from one of the houses. The man was dressed in a police uniform, so he relaxed a bit. The walker he took down was still moving! The girl then grabbed his shovel and split the walker’s head in half. The man came over to look at the walker.

“So, this is a walker. Just a shambling, animated dead guy?” The man said. He kicked the corpse lightly with his boot.

“Duane!!!” Duane turned to see his dad marching up to him, the crazy girl and the skinny sheriff. The sheriff was holding his side like he was nurturing an injury.

“Daddy, this girl was just singing as loud as she can, attracting walkers. And I think the cop is hurt.” Duane’s father quickly pulled his gun up and pointed at the sheriff. Just then, the crazy girl spoke.

“Morgan? Morgan Jones? This is awesome!!! Hey, do you and your kid want to join us?” Duane was still adamant this girl was insane. It seemed his daddy thought so, too.

“Girl, are you missing a few screws or something? How the hell do you know who I am?” at that, the sheriff laughed slightly.

“Believe me, I thought the same thing when I met her. But she knows things she shouldn’t. I’d probably have been floundering if it weren’t for her.” The sheriff held out a hand to his daddy.

“Rick Grimes. The crazy one is Jenna. She hasn’t told me her last name yet.” the sheriff, Rick, then motioned for the nutjob to come closer. The girl, Jenna, seemed to bounce over, a bit peppy in her steps despite just splitting a skull in half. She handed Duane back his shovel.

“Here you go. Now, Mr. Jones, come with us to the Atlanta quarry. If it’s Jenny’s remains you are worried about, I can put her to infinite rest.” Morgan’s jaw dropped.

“How do you know about my wife?” Jenna gave the older man a wistful, sad smile.

“She got bit. On her shoulder, right? And she died from the fever. instead of ending her suffering, you let her turn. She comes back every night, trying to get in.” Duane dropped his shovel, shocked that the girl knew about his mama. Morgan turned the gun on her now.

“Explain. Tell me how you know about Jenny!!” he shouted. Jenna placed her hand on the top of the gun barrel, gently pushing it down.

“Mr. Jones. You saw Jenny pass away. That thing isn’t Jenny. It's just a shell. Please, for your son’s sake, let her rest.” Morgan did something that Duane never has seen him do: he collapsed to the ground, his shoulders shaking with tears. Jenna knelt in front of his daddy.

“You stay here with Rick and your boy. If you can, can you clean up Rick’s gunshot wound? He was shot before the world went to hell. And the bandage is getting pretty rank.” Jenna took the gun from Morgan, flicking the safety on.

“I…I can do that. I used to be a doctor,” he explained. That seemed to surprise Jenna.

“Really? Well then, that helps us in a big way. I’ll be back within a least an hour. It’ll take me some time to find Jenny. While I go find her, you go strip your refuge and load them in the car. I’ll also set a diversion to keep them away for a while.” Jenna then stood and began to walk down the street.

“Little Duane,” Duane scowled at the nickname, “Rick has a son about your age. Why don’t your find some things you two can bond over? I’ll be back,” she flashed the boy a Spock hand, “Live long and prosper.” She then took off. Duane looked down at his mourning father and Rick, both were staring in the direction of the crazy girl.

~~~…

“Okay, despite it being about a day and a half, I’m still in episode freaking one!!! What the fuck was I thinking, hunting for a walkerette? I have no shoes, a gun with only…” she quickly checked, “six bullets and now three people to take care of! Ugh…mama was right. I am just a fuck up.” Jenna fought back angry tears as she kicked over a trash can in spite. The loud aluminum can rattle as a big ass rat jumped out of it, a toe in its mouth. With a sound of disgust, she threw a rancid can at the critter, making it scurry away.

The sound drew over a few walkers, one just who she wanted to see. Jenny’s corpse, despite being nothing but animated carrion, was still a beautiful specimen of a woman. The dead woman rasped and stumbled as Jenna undid the safety of the gun. She began to lead the Jenny-Walker away further from the roads. Once at least a block away, Jenna pointed the gun at Jenny. She took a breath and pulled the trigger. Jenny’s body fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

“Ow. Owowowowowowow! I forgot about the damn kick back!” Wincing and rotating her arm, Jenna was quick on her slippered feet to scurry away from the walkers unsighted.

She was limping by the time she caught up to The jones family and Rick. Morgan held a face of mourning, Duane was crying silently.

“If it helps, she didn’t suffer. But right now we need to leave. Oh, Rick. At the station, we should load up on supplies too. And take a car.” Rick nodded as Jenna slipped into the car, rubbing her feet.

“And we need to find you some shoes.” the older man replied. Jenna sighed in relief.

“I’d have borrowed some of Lori’s clothes and shoes…but she is smaller than me. I can barely fit into her damn jeans. My luck for having thunder thighs.” Jenna snipped. Rick chuckled at the girl’s misfortune. Morgan was also chuckling at the girl.

“So…Jenna. What do we do now? you seem to be the expert here.” Morgan asked. Duane was nodding alongside his dad as well.

“Well, when we get to the station. we need guns, food, and mostly water. I think a shower would be nice. If I remember correctly, the police station has a separate heating system. Runs on propane. So we can have some hot showers.” Duane let out a cheer at the notion of a hot shower. Jenna smiled.

“You remind me of my little brother. he would have been your age, too.” Duane focused on the girl.

“Where is he? I would like to meet him.” Jenna bowed her head.

“He died. My whole family died. My mama went insane and killed all my siblings and family. I’m alone.” the car was silent at the response.

“Shit. I’m sorry there Jenna.” Rick spoke up. Jenna gave him a small smile, closing her eyes to hide her grief.

“I’ll be okay. I’m a bit tired, so I’m going to take a quick cat nap. Wake me when we reach the station.” Jenna curled around herself and slipped into a restless sleep.

~~~…

Rick was confused. Jenna was an enigma, but she seemed to have suffered so much. And yet, she still wants to help them. Morgan and Duane also glanced at the sleeping girl.

“Rick. Who exactly is this girl? How does she know what she knows?” he asked. Rick let out a small puff of a laugh. Jenna scowled in her sleep at the sound, making Rick and Morgan laugh again. He gave the sleeping girl another glance.

“I’m still trying to figure that out. But I guess we are lucky to have her. We should be at the station in at least ten minutes. Rest up while you can. And Morgan…If it helps, I’m sorry about your wife.” Morgan nodded his head and curled his son to his side.

“Thanks. And hey, I hope you find your family.”


	3. Chapter 3

The police station showers were just what they all needed. Duane was happily shouting over the joy of a hot shower while Morgan and Rick laughed. In a far stall, Jenna washed as well. Since she was short, the concrete walls of the stall gave her just enough cover.

“Hey Jenna! Since you are kinda the expert here, what’s our next step?” Rick called out. Jenna had to stand on her tiptoes to peer over the stall wall at the older man.

“Well, first off…We need to load up one of the cars with blankets, medicine, and weapons. And I need some damn clothes that fit. also...Whaa!!!!” Jenna let out a squawk.

“Jenna? You okay?” Rick called out, ready to put decorum to rest and help her despite nudity. Since he was rinsed from soap, he turned off the water.

“I’m okay! Just slipped.” Morgan and Duane laughed. Rick reached for a towel and covered his lower body as he stepped out of his stall. He heard Jenna turn off her water too. Since she was female, Rick gave her two towels.

Jenna had tucked the first towel around her body, the long terrycloth covering her completely. The second towel was wrapped around her head, drying her long hair. Duane and Morgan also emerged from their stalls. But the two Jones males stayed a short distance away. Rick stared down at Jenna, her short stature looking up at the taller man.

“Jenna, There should be some women’s uniforms that may fit you. They will be across the hall in the women locker rooms.” He told her, keeping his eyes on her face. Just her face. Jenna nodded.

“Okay. Hopefully, I can find something.” Turning on her heels, she walked away. Morgan also wrapped himself in a towel and stepped next to Rick.

“She doesn’t seem too concerned about being nude around men.” Morgan pointed out. Rick shook his head and dressed in a clean uniform.

“I noticed that too. I’ve been catching quips about her over the last few hours. She never shows us her back, her gait is more swaying, like she is imbalanced. But her eyes…they have seen some hell.” Rick slipped on his boots as Morgan dressed Duane in clean clothes. Morgan then tied his boots in a neat knot.

“I also noticed she seems very sad about something. She is placing herself in vulnerable situations when she doesn’t have to. It’s like she has nothing to lose.” Morgan glanced across the hall. He was watching Jenna’s short shadow flicker around the other room. He let out a sigh.

“I think I recognize this behavior,” Morgan told Rick. The younger man focused on the older doctor.

“What do you mean? She’s what? like 15? 16? What hell has she seen that makes this one we are in mild?” Rick asked, his calm demeanor focusing on being a lawman. Morgan ran his hands down his face, he knew exactly what kind of hell she has been through. He has seen it before.

“Rick…Jenna was abused.”

~~~…

The men across the hall did not know she heard. Jenna found a clean shirt and a long, soft denim skirt. The shirt was still not buttoned. She laughed, a sad sound slipping from her lips.

“It’s not like I was hiding it.” She quipped. All three of the males jumped and spun to face her. Morgan and Rick held somber emotions on their faces.

“Jenna…” the officer trailed. The short girl quickly buttoned up her blouse, as Dune was ogling her full chest. Morgan noticed and swatted his son’s head.

“Behave.” he snapped at him. Jenna chuckled.

“It’s fine Morgan. I’ve done shit like this to my brother’s friends. He is a healthy, young boy. Too young for my tastes though.” Jenna teased. Duane balked at the girl.

“You ain’t much older than me!” he snipped.

“What was that, boy?” Morgan growled. Duane ducked his head.

“You aren’t much older me.” he corrected. Jenna gave the boy a wide, silly grin.

“Well, I am technically 25, and if my math is right, I am 15 at the moment. you are what? 11?” Duane scowled at the girl. Morgan gave her a weird look.

“What do you mean you are technically 25?” he asked. Jenna winced. OH shit.

“Look, as you know, I know things I shouldn’t. But I guess I can tell you a few things. I ain’t from Georgia. And I ain’t from this time. I know quite a few things that will happen, how they happen, and why.” Morgan scoffed. Jenna scowled at the crude sound.

“I know I sound like a nut. Don’t have to laugh about it,” she mumbled. Duane held up his hand, eager for some answers.

“Yeah, little man?” Jenna asked, deciding to humor the boy.

“If you are from the future…what movies come out?” he asked. Jenna grinned.

“I don’t know all of them, but my favorite ones are the Captain America movies.” Duane’s soft brown eyes sparkled.

“They made Captain America movies?! What else did they make?” he asked. Morgan and Rick watched as she answered as many questions from the child she could.

“Deadpool movies. Lots and lots of zombie and dystopian films. But my all-time favorite is the newest Addams Family movie. I also heard that there is going to be a set of movies based on one of the world’s popular shows.” she replied. Jenna smiled as Duane was enamored with the answers. Morgan spoke up just then.

“If you are from the future…what happens to my boy and me?” Talk about a loaded question. Jenna worried her lower lip.

“Are you sure you want to know that?” she asked, making her voice seem meek. Morgan flinched at the tone.

“Just from that response it wasn’t good, was it?”

“…No. It’s not. So, do you want to know?” she asked again. Morgan pondered.

“…Yes. I do.” Jenna nibbled on her lip again. She let out a heavy sigh.

“Duane gets bit by Jenny. Because you couldn’t put her down like she needed. It makes you spiral into a brief insanity, booby tapping the entire town and trying to kill Rick when he returned for supplies about a year later. You then spend another year trying to chase down and join Rick once you found a way to mentally heal. But you vowed to never take a living life again.” She replied. Morgan then reached out and grabbed hold of his son, holding him close.

“Is that why you offered to put down Jenny for me? To change the future?” he asked. Jenna nodded.

“Mr. Jones, I know what it's like to lose family. It hurts, and the hurt never goes away. But losing your son is something that could have changed, and I did. If you want to be mad at me for dealing with your wife when you couldn’t, fine. But I wasn’t going to let you, or Duane suffer, clinging to a shell of a memory.” Jenna kept her head held up, visually daring Morgan to say something. But It was Rick who spoke instead.

“Jenna, I think they believe you now,” he said, keeping his voice soft. Jenna then bowed her head and turned on her heels, heading back towards the women’s room.

As she walked away, she let her tears cascade down her face. She used the sleeve of her filched shirt to wipe them away. Sitting down on a bench by the lockers, she allowed herself to weep.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just wanted to be in peace!” she whispered to no one.

“Jenna?” startled, Jenna jumped up and spun to face Rick, who held out a pair of hiking boots that looked her size.

“Rick…Sorry.” The man gave her a weird look.

“Why are you sorry? From what you said, you changed the future for the better.” he replied. Jenna made a small laughing huff of a sound.

“I suppose. I guess it’s just something I do: apologize for no reason. Sorry…I did it again.” sitting back down she wiped her face, sniffling and trying to calm herself. Rick gave the girl a soft chuckle.

“It’s alright. How about you try these on. I think they’ll fit better.” handing the girl the boots, Jenna slipped them on. They fit. Standing up, she bounced a bit on the heels.

“They are perfect.” calmer, Jenna gave the older man a hug. She kept her face buried into his chest, hiding her face. She smiled, feeling the warm emotion of kindness for the first time in a long time. Maybe this hell is her saving grace?

~~~…

The guns loaded up, several cans full of siphoned gasoline in the back, the four survivors went on their way. 

As they drove, Jenna glanced out the window, spying a farm. Maybe more than the Joneses can be saved.


	4. Chapter 4

“Why is she holding a chicken? and leading a horse?” Morgan asked as Jenna cooed and cuddled with a very happy hen. The slightly emaciated horse was also nuzzling the girl, happy to see someone alive. Rick shrugged his shoulders. The small entourage stopped at a farmhouse, looking for supplies, and Jenna wandered off into the barn. She came back with guests.

“I have no idea. But if she says we need the livestock, then I ain’t questioning her…she found another chicken.” The girl was now holding two happy hens, both fat bird clucking and…

“Is one of them purring?” Duane had scurried up to the insane girl, in awe of the livestock.

“I didn’t know chickens can purr,” Rick replied. The two older men watched as Jenna also found a small animal carrier in the barn to hold the chickens. Handing the carrier to a gleeful Duane, the girl wandered back into the barn.

“Rick…where did you find this girl again?” Morgan asked. Rick gave the man a queer grin. He chuckled.

“She found me, actually. I thought she was a nurse. She looked at me, knew who I was, and then started to panic. But as I said before, she knows things that are beneficial.”

“Where was she originally?” Morgan asked.

“She said the psych ward.” the older man gave the younger one a flat look.

“…I wonder why.” Rick could see the sarcasm slip from the other man’s lips. Looking for their “prophet” Rick laughed as Jenna walked out holding ANOTHER chicken and a bundle of blankets and leather leashes.

“Okay, I have to ask…why the chickens?” Rick asked. Jenna grinned.

“Three reasons actually. One: fresh eggs, therefore a semi steady food supply. Two: they can be walker alarms and three: why not?” Both the men slumped their heads and shook them in unison. Duane had found a small bucket full of dried apples and was feeding them to the hungry horse and hen number 3.

“…Okay, that makes a bit of sense. But how are we going to transport the damn horse to Atlanta? We don’t have a truck or a trailer.” Morgan asked the crazy girl. Jenna bit the inside of her cheek in thought.

“I can ride him…” Jenna quickly checked the underside of the horse, “Oh. Her. I can ride her to Atlanta. I’ll follow you on her back. That’s why I have this old saddle blanket. I’ll ride Indian style as my uncle taught me.” She then unfolded the rough, woolen _serape_ blanket. The horse nickered as she spotted the blanket and began to trot towards Jenna.

“Seems like she knows what this is.” Jenna joked, gently placing the blanket on the mare’s back, tying it in place with a few of the leather straps. One of the bundles of straps was a bitless halter and rein. The chestnut mare let out a happy whinny and remained still as Jenna dressed the mare in the straps. Duane patted the thick neck of the horse.

“Where are we going, exactly?” the preteen asked. At this Jenna turned her attention towards Rick and Morgan.

“I’m from Montana, I don’t really know Georgia. All I know is that one of my favorite bands is from the Florida-Georgia line.” Rick felt his lips quirk at the mention of the band.

“All I need to know is where to go, and I’ll lead us there.” Jenna, being several hands shorter than the equine, was bouncing on her heels, complementing on how to mount the horse due to her tininess.

“Well, the survival camp is based near a quarry close enough to Atlanta to make runs, but not to be interfered too much by walkers… what is a quarry, to be exact? I have never been to one.” Jenna asked. Rick smiled at the moment of gentle innocence the girl portrayed.

“A quarry is a basically a mining pit full of water…If the camp is still close to an Atlanta quarry…It might be Bellwood. I used to take my family up there to camp. Carl would find rocks he enjoyed and bring them home. Lori would be so pissed that her purse now weighed ten pounds.” Rick chuckled at the memory. Jenna smiled as well.

“I think that is a kid thing. My brothers and I did that to our mother so many times.” Rick chuckled and went to help little nitwit onto the mare. The gentle beast nickered, ready to run. Rick and Morgan ushered Duane and the damn chicken back into the cruiser. Morgan had found a few more gallons of gasoline and loaded those up too with a few more of the _serape_ blankets. Climbing into the car, the three men went on their way. Jenna kept the horse in a steady trot behind the cruiser.

~~~…

Jenna was singing softly, keeping the horse calm as she watched Rick slow to a stop. The mare was breathing a bit harder, so the crazy girl patted the thick neck in thanks. Rick stepped out of the cruiser.

“Jenna! Got a minute?” he asked. Jenna nodded but remained on the horse. She was too short to safely jump down, anyway.

“What’s up?” she asked. Morgan lead Duane away to the side of the road to relieve their bladders, so the two had a moment of privacy.

“Bellwood Quarry is just behind the ridge. But just now I got a signal for help over the CB. Since you know what is going to happen, what can we do? And…How should I greet Lori when I see her?” oh fuck.

“Oh shit, I forgot about her. Rick…Lori thinks you are dead,” she explained. Rick nodded.

“I kinda figured on that. But what else?” he asked again. Jenna worried her lower lip.

“Rick…Lori is sleeping with Shane. Shane tried to save you before everything went to shit, but he couldn’t hear a heartbeat, so he left you. It almost killed him to leave you behind. In their grief, they turned to each other for comfort. Rick…Shane is in love with Lori, and if you try to take Lori back…a whole lot of drama and fresh hell will happen.” she explained. Rick bowed his head, clenching his fists. He was shaking slightly with what she hope was rage. Lifting his head, Rick looked Jenna in the eyes, his own blue eyes glistening with pained tears. Jenna felt her own hazel/green eyes burn with tears in sympathy.

“Thank you for telling me.” she was not expecting that answer.

“Uh… okay? Shouldn’t you be a bit pissed off?” she asked. Rick chuckled, a rough, sad sound from his throat.

“Normally I should be furious. But somehow, I see this as a fresh start. You knew Lori and I were having issues in our marriage, so I figured you know what is going to happen with Lori and me as well when we meet. What about Carl? What about my son?” Jenna took a deep calming breath.

“Well, Carl misses you. He just wants his dad. Shane is trying to fill the role of a father for him, and it is working, but he still wants his papa. I know he is a ballsy little guy for growing up in the apocalypse. He is going to be bored, so Duane’s presence will help a lot. He knows Shane is banging his mom, despite that Lori and Shane are trying to be discreet…The whole camp knows in fact. Now, there is a group of supply runners trapped in the city. But the first thing we should do is head towards the camp. We will drop off our cargo and the Joneses. The horse will stay behind as well. After that, we head out and rescue the group. It’s a bit of a large one, so We need to grab a truck or van to sit everyone…unless we tie a certain redneck to the hood.” Jenna mumbled the last question, making Rick snort with laughter.

“Okay then. As I said before, you know this world better.” Morgan and Duane were walking back, the small boy examining the long knife he found next to a dead walker. The older Jones man ushered his son into the cruiser, who was then playing with the chickens again.

“What now? The CB picked up and SOS, but do we need to risk it? To be honest, the SOS is closer than Bellwood.” with a groan, Jenna slumped her head against the mare’s neck.

“Fuck…Let me think.” with a yelp, Jenna shot up, her eyes glowing with an idea.

“Okay…I know the SOS came from a group in a department store just on Main Street. The store is ironically close to a construction site. The biggest issue is the herd of Walkers, and they are fresh, so they are ten times more dangerous. Fuckers know how to run and use tools…How much gasoline can we spare?” slightly startled by her jumpy way of thinking, Morgan decided to answer her.

“About a gallon. What are you thinking?” he asked, very wary and skeptical. Jenna grinned, the glaze of insanity shimmering in her eyes.

“Can we spare some gun powder from some bullets? All I need is three tablespoons.” Now Rick was slightly scared.

“What are you planning?” asked. Jenna’s grin got wider.

“We are going to blow up a car.”

~~~…

Glenn heard it before he saw it. A car alarm was going off about six blocks deeper into the city. And then… A tower of fire threw what looked like a hot wheel high in the air, and making it crash deeper into the city.

“Glenn, what the hell was that?” the young Korean turned to see Andrea, who was just as confused. T-Dog, Morales, and Jacqui were also on the roof, watching the nearby inferno draw almost all the walkers away. Behind them, Merle was whooping and shouting at the flames, obviously enjoying the mayhem.

“...Hello?...This is Officer Grimes…The walkers are lured away by a friend…On my signal…Run towards the construction site down the road…” the walkie talkie belched out. Glenn scrambled to answer.

“Hello? Yes, we saw the explosion! We are waiting for your command!” he yelped. The walkie talkie buzzed again.

“…Look for a second explosion…gather all you can carry…Wait for more orders…” The man on the walkie rasped. Glenn responded.

“Thank you! Over and out.” turning to face his group, Glenn saw hope in their eyes. Merle was too busy shooting stray walkers that were shuffling towards the inferno.

“Dixon! Come on, we got to go!” Morales called out. Merle turned to face the other man, his eyes wild.

“I ain’t taking no orders from a spic!” he snarled. The two men broke out into a fight.

“Hey!” turning to the new voice, Glenn, Merle, Morales and the rest watched as a tall, thin man punched Merle and dragged his limp body to a pipe. He handcuffed him to said pipe. Behind him, a chubby young girl was shaking her head.

“Who the hell are you?” Merle spat.

“Officer Friendly.” the man snarked back. His younger companion giggled. Turning to face the bewildered group, the girl smiled at them.

“I’m Jenna, this is Rick. You got about five minutes to haul ass towards the van…Uh, Rick…Where are the keys to the handcuffs?” Rick then patted his pockets.

“Shit…” at the exclamation, Merle paled.

“You Lost the damn key?! You can’t leave me here!” he shouted. Jenna did something none of the adults were expecting: She sat down next to Merle. Her companion seemed nervous when she did this.

“Jenna, you can’t stay here with him! We need you.” he rasped. The scavenging group seemed confused about the remark.

“Rick. Someone needs to stay with him. In a world where almost everything is your enemy, we cannot lose our own humanity by leaving this doped up dumb ass here to bake in the sun.” Rick stiffened at her remark.

“He’s high? He is dangerous, you don’t know what he will do to you,” he whispered to her. Jenna smiled, trying to reassure her friend.

“Rick, Carl needs you and with me here, someone needs to keep Merle calm, so he doesn’t do anything rash.”

“What is he going to do? he’s handcuffed to a pipe!” T-Dog barked. Jenna turned her hazel/green eyes towards the robust black man.

“T-Dog, right?” she asked.

“How the hell do you know my name?” he asked.

“Don’t think about it. She knows shit that is important, our names are one of them.” Rick replied to the man. T-Dog was side glaring the girl now, who seemed to be making some sort of cover with some plastic.

“Your window is closing. Go! and Rick…I’ll wait here for you. I’ll be fine.” although hesitant, he had no choice but to answer. He motioned for the others to hurry down.

“I’ll come back. I ain’t leaving you here.” He held out Merle’s rifle to the girl. She took it. Merle, who was surprisingly quiet, watched as the officer left with one more glance back. He closed the door behind them, and the two were alone.

~~~…

Merle was very confused. The girl, Jenna stayed behind…for him. He wasn’t used to such kindness. Not even from his own mother or sibling.

“Merle Dixon. I must say I was eager to meet you,” she whispered, keeping her voice soft and low, speaking to him like he was a trapped bobcat.

“How the hell do you know who I am?” he asked, all aggression bled out of him after a few minutes watching the girl gather tools and creating a small barricade against the door.

“You wouldn’t believe me,” she replied.

“Try me. It’s like I’m going anywhere.” Jenna sighed.

“Where I am from, you are kind of a celebrity. You, your camp…this world. Not a lot of people liked you, but a few, like me, believed you have some good in you. You have a fan base in my world. Not as big as your brother’s or Rick’s, but still big enough that many rooted for you.” Merle scoffed.

“You’re right, I don’t believe you. Who in the hell would want to be fans of us?” he asked. Jenna shrugged.

“Dunno, to be honest, I didn’t even like this world. I wanted nothing to do with this Zombie world, I hated how rabid many people were about this world. But then I decided to pay attention to some of the details. I was curious. What is so great about the world of Walkers?” she decided to do something that shocked Merle: she curled close to him, like seeking comfort.

“Say that I believe you. What exactly is this world of yours?” Jenna laughed, the notion soft, almost too soft for him to hear.

“You are in a well-loved Television show. Your world inspired so many in mine to prepare for a catastrophe, to show that true monsters are people.” Merle was stunned.

“If this hell is a tv show, what happened to me?” He asked, surprised by the clarity he was feeling despite his drug fried brain.

“You caused some trouble. And Rick handcuffed you to the roof, like now. But no one stayed behind for you. And you cut off your hand to escape from the roof. If you waited only a few more hours, you would have been saved.” Merle was silent. He was not expecting that answer.

“What about Daryl? You said we have fans. What about my brother?” he asked.

“Daryl actually ended up being the most beloved. Many women in my world love his brash beauty, they adore his roughness, the size of his heart. Many girls basically melt when they see Daryl smile when he shows a tenderness that many don’t expect from such a man. I suppose I’m one of the crazy girls who find your brother attractive.” she was resting her head on his shoulder, pulling her legs close. Merle was very confused.

“…So, in your world…everyone knows what our daddy did to us?”

“…In a way. I know that he was beaten so bad that when you finally turned 18, you left. But you left Daryl behind. And somehow, his treatment was worse. When, and I mean When, Rick comes back, ask your brother about the scars on his back. Despite everything, he loves you.” Merle was sullen. Although his hand was stuck tot hat damn pipe…he wanted to hug this girl.

“I ain’t ever asked for anything. I ain’t ever begged for anything. But I’m going to ask this: what happened to me?” Merle felt his blue eyes burn with tears.

“…You died. You died by going on a suicide mission. And you turned into a Walker. Daryl was the one to put you to rest.” and for the first time in a long time, Merle cried. He cried harder as he felt Jenna’s smaller body try to comfort him now, wrapping her smaller arms around his chest. He even cried himself to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Rick was complementing on Jenna’s words. Inside the van, He glanced at the rescued Scouters. He was driving them to where Jenna and he left the Joneses.

“Is that a horse?” The Asian man, Glenn if he remembers right, quipped up. Rick smiled.

“Yeah, that Jenna’s rescued pet. She doesn’t have a name yet.” Slowing the van down, Rick climbed out to greet Morgan.

“Where’s Jenna?” Duane asked. He was holding one of the chickens.

“She volunteered to stay behind. Something happened, and one of their own was forced to stay behind as well. Jenna stayed with him.” the officer explained. Duane scowled and Morgan was cursing under his breath.

“That damn girl. Now what?” Morgan asked. And Rick found the man staring as him, oh fuck. He was the leader now.

“Jenna said we get everyone back to camp. Find the man’s brother and come back. But we need to get to the other survivors first.” As he chatted and caught up with Morgan, Glenn got Morales, T-Dog, and Andrea to turn to him. Jacqui was chatting with the boy, cooing over the chicken.

“Guys, I don’t know if we should trust them. I mean, Rick and that girl saved our asses, but that girl knew T-Dog’s name. None of us have seen her before! And she chose Merle over her companions. Who in their right mind would choose the prick?” Glenn whispered. Andrea nodded her head.

“I agree with Glenn. Something about this ain’t right. “ Jacqui had walked over to the whispering group, a bit happier than she was earlier.

“What on earth are you talk about?” the skinny dark-skinned woman asked. She frowned as she took in her friends' silence.

“Jacqui…We don’t trust them. They know something, and they ain’t telling us. For example that girl, Jenna. She knew we have a child named Carl at the camp, somehow knew Merle was high, and she knew who T-Dog is. Something isn’t adding up.” Andrea replied. Jacqui gave them an odd look.

“I was just talking with Morgan Jones, and Jenna and Rick saved him and his son. Jenna knows things that are beneficial and from what I gathered from Morgan, she is the one who is in charge. If she said to be left behind, there is a reason.” she replied. Morales chewed on his bottom lip, pondering.

“What else did they say about the girl?” he asked. Jacqui turned to see the other two men and the child carefully feed and water the livestock they had.

“She is odd. But she is kind-hearted. She cherishes Duane, says the boy reminds her of a sibling. She knew about Dixon beforehand, apparently, she made a joke about tying a redneck to a hood of a car.” T-Dog had to let out a laugh at that. Glenn huffed, already realizing he was outnumbered. It seemed like the only one on his side was Andrea.

“Alright. We’ll let Shane figure what to do with them…Is that kid holding a chicken?” The group laughed again.

“You are as observant as a trash can.” Morales clapped the younger man on the back. they quickly joined Rick.

“Well, I know where we need to go now, But who is going to Ride the mare?” Rick asked. No one volunteered. He sighed.

“Fine. I’ll ride the damn horse…Duane? Where is the third hen?” Little Duane looked around and swallowed nervously.

“She’s gone.” Morgan and Rick swore.

“Dammit.”

~~~…

“…I knocked out his teeth. And despite that I was discharged, it was worth it.” Merle finished his story. Jenna giggled. Earlier, it rained just enough to cool them down, And Jenna made a water trap to catch some of the rain. She gave some Merle, who was sweating quite a bit.

“Why did you knock out his teeth? I never figured out the reason,” she asked. The girl was distracting Merle from hysteria brought on by the drugs. She found out what he was hooked to cocaine. Merle grinned, a delirious sort of look.

“I didn’t want to take orders from a spic.” Jenna frowned at the racial slur.

“…You’re listening to me. I’m a ‘spic.’ And I am a 'prairie nigger,' which I have been called before. Are you going to ignore my orders now?” she asked. Merle flinched at her soft tone.

“…I guess things change. I never really pegged you as a…Mexican or Native. You are very pale compared to the ones I’ve seen. Shorter too.” Jenna scowled again, a bit more playfully. She then began to pick at the lock on the cuffs.

“I guess that’s due to my grandmother. Her parents were From Norway and Ireland and their parents were from Denmark and Scotland. I’m Native from my grandfather, and Mexican from my birth father. My grandmother said we were Heinz 57. Just a little bit of everything.” She gave up on the lock, But then stood to grab some water from her rain trap. She gave some to Merle first.

“Hey, girlie. Am I having visions, or is there a chicken strutting our way?” Jenna turned to see what Merle saw and laughed.

“You aren’t seeing things. There’s a goddamn chicken.” the clucking bird saw Jenna and hurried her fat little body over. Merle cackled as the hen made small hops to be picked up. The chicken made a cooing purr sound and was happily nestled in her arms.

“What are you doing here? You should be with Duane and Rick…how the hell did you get into the city and not get eaten?” Jenna happily petted the content bird. Merle was baffled.

“Why is there a chicken? How the hell did that damn bird get here anyway?” he asked. Jenna, still giggling a bit, sat back next to Merle. The chicken clucked as Merle used his free hand to poke the bird.

“I now know what to name her though.” Jenna grinned.

“What are you going to call her?” Merle asked. He was thankful Jenna made shade with a tarp. It was getting hot!

“Lucky. Lucky LS” Merle chuckled. The chicken apparently grew bored and was hopping around the roof, pecking at some bugs.

~~~…

Jenna was right. He knew the instant he saw Lori’s pale face turn the color of ashen milk, that crazy girl was right. Lori was with Shane. He let out a sigh and slid off the skinny mare. Many of the folks at the town were in awe with the mare, two chickens, and a plethora of weapons and food. He didn’t see Carl anywhere. Ignoring Lori, he hugged the tearful Shane.

“I thought you were dead…I checked for a heartbeat, and I didn’t hear or feel anything.” Shane whispered. The larger man was shaking as he cried against his friend.

“I understand. I know you left me. If I were alive, I know you would have taken me along too. And Thank you for comforting Lori.” Shane stiffened at the notion.

“H…How did you know?” he asked, voice cracking. Rick pulled away just slightly to remove the halter from the mare.

“When I woke up, there was a girl. She knew everything that was going on, and she told me some things. She told me about you and Lori.” Shane paled drastically.

“…I’m sorry Rick. But I love Lori. I don’t think I can let her go.” he whispered. Rick ducked his head.

“I realized that. And I have told you we’ve been having marital issues. But I have just been here for five minutes, and she is already happier than she was with me.” Rick clapped his friend’s shoulder.

“So…Because you are my brother, I’m giving her up.” Rick then stepped back and turned to tend to the horses. He watched from the corner of his eyes As Shane repeated the words to Lori…who was now marching up to him...very pissed off. She grabbed Rick’s shoulder, spun him around, and smacked him hard. His head turned with the force of the blow.

“WHO IS SHE?! WHO IS THIS LITTLE WHORE THAT IS YOUR SO-CALLED SAVIOR?!” she screamed. The whole camp was silent as Lori spat venomous words at her ex-husband. She raised her hand to smack him again but was stopped.

“DAD!!” Carl barreled into his father’s stomach, loud sobs of joy bouncing of the Quarry’s walls. Rick knelt to hug his child better.

“Carl. Thank god you are alright. Thank God Jenna was right.” he wept as well, clinging to his boy. Morgan walked over to Rick, Duane entertaining the Morales twins with the two remaining chickens.

“Rick, so this is Carl?” Morgan asked, keeping a cool head despite what he witnessed. Carl clung to his father, shy now that he realized there were new survivors.

“Yeah. Jenna was right. Carl and my family would be safe. I just wasn’t expecting Lori to be so violent. Since Jenna didn’t say anything, I guess she didn’t know either.” Rick winced as he eased up back into a standing position. Both Duane, who dropped a chicken, and Morgan rushed to help him stand.

“Riding that damn horse did your gunshot wound no favors,” Morgan muttered. Duane smiled at Carl, who smiled back then looked down at his feet. There was a chicken.

“Where did the chicken come from?” he asked. Glenn, standing a few feet back, threw up his hands.

“Thank you! Where the hell did you guys find living chickens?!” he asked. Rick chuckled but hissed as he was eased into a sitting position, now resting in the cruiser.

“Jenna found them. She said they’ll come in handy. Which reminds me…She mentioned that Dixon had a brother, where is he?” he asked. Lori, who was still not reaming her husband, stalked over.

“Who is this Jenna? Is she your new whore?! Is that why you are so focused on her?! Where is this bitch?!” Lori ranted. Morgan bit back a growl. He already didn’t like Lori Grimes.

“Rick, you need to rest up. We’ll wait for Dixon’s brother, then we go back to get Jenna. I ain’t liking you left her with a junkie.” Morgan reprimanded. That bit of information actually made Shane jump.

“You left Merle Dixon with a woman? He’s a perv and an asshole! Tell me where you left her, and I’ll go get her.” Rick shook her head, refusing. He tried to stand but yelped as Morgan jabbed him in the side to make him fall back down.

“She ain’t going to leave Merle. She chose to stay behind so nothing happens to him, anyway. Let me rest up a bit and wait for Merle’s brother. Then we can go back for them.” Rick replied. Shane groaned in frustration. But he relented.

“Do you trust this girl? Especially around Merle Dixon?” he asked. Rick nodded, a soft smile on his lips.

“I’d be more worried about Merle.”

~~~…

Jenna was using the scope of the rifle to scan the street below. Not wanting to draw attention from the Walkers, she didn’t shoot at any. The scope had a night vision lens, which was good considering the nightfall hit about twenty minutes ago. The Georgia night air was cooler than the day but had nothing on Montana nights. Merle did was mumbling in his sleep, the slumber helping him ease off his drug. Jenna worried her lip. Detoxing is going to be hell. Luck LS was sitting on Merle’s lap, asleep as well. So she was alone right now. Stepping away from the ledge, Jenna slumped down next to Merle’s warmer body. Even if she was used to colder weather…it was still frigging cold! Earlier she braved the store downstairs and found some throws. She covered Merle and then herself but did not sleep.

“Rick will be back in the morning. I know he will. I just have to wait a few more hours. Just a few more hours.” Jenna glanced at the door she jury-rigged shut. She knew nothing is going to come upon the stairs without her knowing, but she wasn’t trusting herself to defend both Merle and herself….and the damn chicken. It’s not she can sleep anyway. Jenna looked up, amazed at such clarity to see the whorls of stars. She smiled.

“Do you know? I love you so? and Sissy will never let you go? To the stars, and the sky. You’ll always be my little guy…” she sang, her voice soft. She fought hard not to think about her family.

“They’re gone. All of my little brothers, my little sister. My mama and grandmother. I’m all alone now.” realizing that, she cried herself into a light sleep, exhaustion winning over stubborn insomnia.


	6. Chapter 6

Merle woke up slightly to something soft pressing on his arm. It was very soft; plushy like a pillow. He looked to see what it was. Jenna’s well-endowed chest was pressed against his arm, she was hugging his arm as she slept. He also noticed that both of them were covered with soft yet thin blankets. Glancing around, he saw that the odd girl made a semi-decent shelter out of a tarp and some string. He stretched as best as he could, despite the damn girl clutching his arm in small hands. A bit more sober thanks to some sleep, he took in his little savior.

Jenna was short, barely 5 feet, 2 inches; her young body was thick with curves. She had pale skin, not quite white but had enough color to show biracial bloodline. Her hair was long and dark, not black but a deep auburn, border on dark brown. Her hair had a soft wave around the ends, curling just enough to make it seem thicker than it was. She had a small peppering of scars on her arms, a small mole at the corner of her left cheek and thin eyebrows. Although they were closed, Merle recalled her eyes being a mirage of woodsy colors that made hazel. Too bad she is a damn kid. She was very pretty.

Jenna was waking up now. Merle turned to look for Lucky LS. The damn chicken was dipping her ruddy little head in one of the water traps, drinking and occasionally snapping at pesky mosquitoes.

~.~.~.

For the first time in a long time, Jenna felt well-rested. While the last few days in this living hell had her sleeping for only a few minutes at the time, She felt much better at getting a night of rest. She hugged the thing in her arms, humming in her throat at the smell of dust, leather, and sweetish sweat. She had no idea who she was clinging to, but the smells were familiar.

“Uh…Hey, little lady. Can you give me back my only arm?” her eyes flew open. And she blushed. She was holding Merle Dixon’s arms like a body pillow, cuddling the brute of a man close to her breasts. She let out a squeak and jumped back. Merle was cackling.

“Damn. Too damn bad you are greener than a sapling. I bet I could think of a few things we could have done to pass the time.” the older man said lewdly. Jenna just rolled her eyes, her embarrassment gone.

“Yeah, it’s not like anything I’ve heard before,” she mumbled. Merle winced and appeared chastised.

“Damn, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Just teasing.” Merle mumbled. Jenna gave the man a kind smile.

“Don’t worry about it. Like I said. I’ve heard all this shit before. Normally from my mother’s current boyfriend or her drug buddies. At least you won’t act upon it.” she mumbled back. Merle let out a choking gasp.

“What?” Jenna flinched. She didn’t mean to reveal that. Merle sat as straight as he could, his back stiff from shock and mild horror.

“Mind repeating that?” He asked. Jenna began to curl into herself, making herself small. Merle knew the sign all too well, seeing it on his brother too many times to count.

“Little Lady, were you… were you raped?” Jenna curled into a tighter ball. Merle swore under his breath. He then made a silent vow: he will protect this dimension jumping girl with all he got.

~~~…

Rick stood next his patrol car, the skinny mare nickering as she ate a few stale crackers from his hand. Shane was going over the supplies Jenna made them gather beforehand.

“Whoever this Jenna is, she has a good head on her shoulders,” Shane exclaimed. Rick smiled at the astonishment on his best friend. The mare nickered as she licked up the crumbs from Rick’s hand.

“She does. I thought she was crazy at first. She is, but she knows what she is doing. She knows things that she shouldn’t. She informed me on you and Lori, knew about Dixon, and somehow knows all there is about the Walkers. Now she stayed behind with Merle for a reason, and I have to trust her. I owe her so much.” Rick watched the mare bob her large head and seemingly play with Carl and one of the chickens. He smiled, pleased to see his son enjoying a few minutes of innocence.

“Dixon should be back any minute,” Shane said. The larger man opened a bag of staler than sawdust Doritos, popping the flammable corn chips in his mouth. Rick took a bottle of water and took a long sip. He held some in his hands to give to a begging hen. The fat bird took a few beakfuls and went to attack a nearby anthill.

“What did she tell you about the walkers?” Shane asked. Rick took another sip of water. He glanced over the camp, noting it was very divided.

“She told me that Walkers can be killed with a headshot. If they are fresh, they are more dangerous. If you are bitten, amputation can save you if you are quick enough. They find you by smell, sound, and movement. I think there is more, but she hasn’t told me yet.” Rick finished his water. Shane nodded his head at the information.

There were screams. Rick and Shane grabbed each a weapon as Carl and the rest of the children cried out. Following where the children were playing, Rick was quick to stab the feeding walker in the head, rendering it harmless. The bushes rustled as a lean and angry-looking man stumbled out wielding a crossbow. The man was cursing and griping about how the walker was feeding on his kill. Rick then noticed the doe, a couple of arrows sticking out of its hindquarters, but a massive chunk ripped from its belly. The man began kicking the dead walker, very pissed off. He then turned and began calling out for Merle. Rick then realized this was Merle’s brother. Shane went to intercept him.

“Dixon, right?” Rick called out. The angry man turned his hardened gaze on him.

“Who the hell are you?” he snarled. Rick held up his hands in mercy.

“My name is Rick Grimes. I’m going to cut to the chase. Your brother is stuck on a roof back in the city. I was waiting for you so we can go get him.” Merle’s brother lunged at him, quickly pinning the still injured man to a tree.

“You left my brother on a roof?! In a walker infested city?! ALONE?!” he growled. Shane pulled the young man off his friend.

“Calm down! He’s not alone!” The man relaxed just enough for Shane to feel safe enough to release him. Rick fought back a wince as his wound twanged with pain from being slammed into rough bark. The man waited for Rick to speak.

“I left your brother with a friend. A girl who saved my life and my friends. Your brother was doped up on something, and my friend knew. She decided to stay with him, so nothing will happen to him.” Rick explained. The younger Dixon let out a huff and ran calloused fingers through short, greasy hair.

“Do you trust this girl to protect my brother?” he asked. Rick nodded.

“I do. Now, can I ask for your name?”

“…Daryl.”

~~~…

Daryl Dixon remained quiet as the china man, Grimes and the man called T-Dog rode back into the town. Giving the man driving a side glance. He gnawed on his knuckle, deep in thought.

“Who is this girl you left with my brother?” he asked. Rick chuckled.

“To be honest, I’d be more worried about your brother. Jenna is a force to be reckoned with.” Rick smiled. The china man and T-Dog chuckled as well.

“He ain’t wrong. I only met her for five minutes, and she was something else.” T-Dog explained. Daryl was beginning to paint a picture of this Jenna.

“How did you get out of Atlanta?” Daryl asked. The china man replied.

“Someone blew up a car. The walkers lumbered over to the explosion.”

“Who blew up the damn car?”

“Jenna. Using gunpowder and some gasoline.” The small group came to a stop about five blocks away from the group left Merle. Daryl was quick to jump out. The china man and Grimes stepped out as well. T-Dog held up a large backpack for supplies.

“So where did you leave this girl and my brother?” Daryl asked. Rick took the lead.

“A department store, just a few blocks away. I trust Jenna to keep your brother safe.” Nodding to the man, Daryl began to stalk towards the store. The china man, Grimes, and T-Dog followed.

The glass doors of the building were surprisingly still whole. The bottom floor was empty of the lumbering dead. Daryl took cautionary steps as he allowed Rick to lead them. The stairway was dark and silent as they climbed the steps. Rick reached the roof’s door and tried to open them. Something was in the way.

“Jenna? It’s Rick.” The small group heard soft steps come close to the door and some shuffling of objects were moved from the door. Said door was then eased open, the bright sunlight giving the men temporary blindness.

“Rick. Did you bring Daryl?” Daryl jumped at the sound of his name. He pushed through the door to tower of the short…girl. Oh fuck, she was a child!!! He balked as he assessed the rooftop. His stupid brother was watching them from a rickshaw shade, his brother’s rifle was rested next to the edge of the roof. There was a water trap with only a few sips of water left. And a chicken was sitting in his brother’s lap.

“Huh. So that’s where she went.” Rick muttered. The girl, he assumed was Jenna, smiled at the man.

“I have no idea how she got into the city without getting eaten. But she has been helpful in making sure we didn’t get sucked dry by bugs. Her name is Lucky. Lucky LS.” Daryl watched as Rick handed Jenna a shiny little key. The girl hurried over to his brother and uncuffed his arm. Merle let out a groan of relief that was border-on pornographic. The girl rolled her eyes.

“Feel better now?” she asked his brother. Merle stood and stretched, his spine popping from the movement.

“I got to take a piss.” Daryl rolled his eyes as his brother staggered over to the ledge and undid his fly.

“Real eloquent, Merle.” Jenna snorted. She had her back turned to Merle, which surprised Rick. Daryl watched as Rick hugged Jenna, holding her tight. Something was…strange. Merle finished his pissing and walked over to the girl, leaning his larger bulk over Jenna’s shoulder. He was gentle. Daryl never saw him this gentle before. He took in Jenna.

She was pretty. Cute in a kitten-like way. But somehow, she reminded him of a coral snake: pretty, gentle-looking, but very deadly. She had this air around her that made her seem serene. He took a gander into her forest colored eyes. There was sadness, and somehow…it made his heart ache.

Daryl noticed that Rick was somewhat dependent on Jenna and her bizarre guidance. He watched as Rick listened to Jenna as she ordered the other men, including his brother, to gather blankets, denim jeans, thick cloth tarps, and boxes of wrapping tissue.

“Hey, little lady. Why the fuck do we need all this damn tissue paper?” Merle asked. Jenna grinned.

“Would you rather wipe your ass with a pinecone?” she snipped.

“Fair enough.” Daryl let out a soft chuckle. He is going to like this girl!


	7. Chapter 7

Inside the car, now a bit cramped from the girl’s horde and his brother, Daryl listened as Jenna began to sing. Her voice was a bit coarse, but there was a softness in the tone. It wasn’t a bad combination. He even recognized the song. At the moment, Rick and the Chinese kid were sitting in the front seat. Daryl was crammed in the back with Merle and T-Dog. Jenna was riding in the way back, surrounded by the blankets, tarps, and other supplies. Lucky LS was stuffed in a box, out of the way, and contained for the time being.

“Hey, little lady. Why in Hell are you singing Hank Williams? That’s a bit before your time.” Merle questioned.

“Hank Williams Jr. You pea-brain.” Merle cackled at her attitude.

“Oh, sorry, little lady. But my question stands. Why are you singing that song?” Daryl watched as Jenna’s joyous demeanor faded into something akin to sorrow.

“My dad, he loved Hank Williams Jr. Half deaf and meaner than Merle,” Merle snorted with humor, “He loved this song. SO I learned to sing it. for him. Even though he couldn’t exactly hear me, he was still my fan. I miss him.” Jenna remained quiet.

“How did he die? Your daddy?” Merle asked.

“He died a long time ago. Heart attack. I was the only one who remained in the room when the doctors pulled the plug. I don’t remember his voice anymore.” Daryl closed his eyes in thought.

“Why don’t you sing something that isn’t so sad?” He requested. Jenna smiled.

“Maybe later. We need to hurry back to the camp.” Rick looked at her through the mirror, concerned. The Asian kid and Merle also looked back at her.

“What’s going to happen?” Rick asked, straight to the point. Jenna grimaced.

“There is a small herd approaching the camp. If we don’t hurry half of them are going to die, including Andrea’s sister Amy.” Glenn turned in his seat to glare at the teenager.

“How the hell do you know that?!” he snapped, surprising The Dixons and T-Dog with his sudden aggression. Jenna glared right back.

“It doesn’t matter how I know! Rick, hit the gas…Now!” the older man nodded and slammed down on the pedal. Merle began to whoop as they went from 60mph to 100.

~~~…

The sun was just setting behind the mountain, casting the quarry into light shadow. Morgan was surveying the camp, noticing they were not close-knit. He noticed Rick’s wife, Lori, pacing around the fire, agitated like a wet cat. She was glancing at the road every ten seconds. He found his son staying near the tent he set up. It was back facing several bushes and sitting closer to the cars than the other tents. Duane was petting one of the remaining chickens, the skinny mare nickering as she nibbled on some of the bush leaves.

“Morgan, right? I heard that you owe your life to this Jenna girl.” turning to the left, he smiled as Shane, the nominated leader walk up to him, a slight swagger in his steps.

“I do. She put down my wife when I couldn’t. I thought she was crazy at first…I still do in fact, but her brand of insanity is what kept us alive this long. I don’t know how that damn girl knows what she knows, but If she is saying something that sounds bizarre....listen. She knows what she is doing.” Shane nodded at the advice.

With the crunch of gravel, the men of the camp turned to see that Rick and his little posse are back. The car doors burst open and T-Dog leaped from the car. He was waving his large hands in front of his face. Daryl, Glenn, and Rick burst out of the car too, making noises of disgust. Merle slid out of the car then, laughing his head off.

“Oh, come on! It ain’t that bad!” he chortled. Daryl reached over and punched his brother in the arm.

“That was just nasty, Merle! You don’t rip ass in a full car when the fucking windows are busted close!!!” Merle cackled then turned to help their last passenger out of the back of the car. Shane balked as the older redneck let out a girl. A damn child!

“Why aren’t you bitching about the smell?” the older man asked. The girl rolled her eyes and laughed.

“I lived next to a damn cesspool for four years, raised goats and mucked pens. That was nothing.” Merle cackled again. Shane watched the girl made staggering steps over to him and Morgan.

“Shane Walsh, right?” Shane stared at the girl, curious.

“How do you know my name?” he asked, heavily puzzled. The girl didn’t answer.

“Never mind that. We got to fortify this camp. There is a herd coming.” Turning to look at Rick, Shane saw that his friend was taking down Lori and Carl’s tent and moving it closer to the RV.

“How the hell do you know?” the girl scoffed at the older man.

“Never mind how I know! Everyone needs to take down their tents and move them closer to the RV, Now!” Morgan stood from his post and began to do what the girl said. He saw the Dixons began to do so as well. No one else moved. The fat bastard known as Ed was the one to speak up.

“I ain’t listening to no underage bitch tell me what to do!” He saw the girl stiffen from the insult, but she went back to doing what she was doing. Ed lumbered over and grabbed the girl’s arm, making her yelp. At the sound, Morgan, Rick, and the Dixons all turned to aim their weapons at the cruel man.

“Let her go. Now!” the younger Dixon ordered. His druggie older brother had a pistol pointed at his head. Ed shoved the girl away from him. Shane caught her as she stumbled.

“Jenna! Are you alright?” Rick asked. So, this was Jenna. The girl, Jenna nodded and eased herself up.

“I’m alright. But Ed,” she addressed the other man, “If you lay a hand on me, Carol, or little Sophia, I’ll render you into a walker myself.” The fat man stiffened as she mentioned his family. The whole camp stiffened into silence. The silence was broken when Lori stormed over a slapped the girl. Hard.

“YOU LITTLE BITCH!!! YOU STOLE MY HUSBAND!!!” Shane broke from his place and grabbed Lori. The woman was screaming profanities at the girl, the damn child!! Rick and the other men moved in towards the girl. Morgan was checking her body for injuries as Rick tended to the girl’s now bruising cheek. The two Dixons remained on guard. Shane then set Lori down, not releasing his grip on the madwoman.

Lori, Lori! Rick ain’t sleeping with Jenna.” he stated. Lori then spun and glowered at her lover.

“How do you know? How the hell do you know?!” she cried. Shane spun the woman around to finally see Jenna.

“Look at her! She’s a child. Probably only a few years older than Carl. And Rick isn’t a pedophile. Hell, Lori. She was able to calm down Merle fucking Dixon for God’s sake. Look, that redneck asshole is wrapped around her little finger.” Lori glanced and saw that Shane was right. The girl, Jenna, was motioning Merle to lay down in the moving tent. The dick was even obeying.

“Then why is Rick so focused on her?!” she wailed again. Shane huffed.

“She saved his life. She saved the Joneses lives too. She saved Glenn, Jacqui, and everyone else on the run. Rick and Morgan agreed that she knows some things. She knows stuff that is important and things she should not know.” Lori glanced back at Jenna. The teenage girl was petting the skinny mare now. Lori scowled. What did the girl know?

~~~…

Jenna began to pace. She was restless. It has been an hour since she arrived at the camp. Giving Amy some of the tissue paper she salvaged, she kept her eyes on the untrusting blackness of the night. Merle and Daryl were watching her pace but kept a vigilance for her. Rick had the two boys moved closer to the RV. She saw the timid Carol and her daughter shoot her thankful glances. Ed was off in his tent somewhere pouting. She didn’t bother trying to warn him. It’s better if he died anyway.

“Jenna? Are you hungry? You haven’t eaten today or yesterday.” Rick called out. She stopped her pacing.

“I can go a bit longer without food. Got to get used to that, anyway. I ain’t hungry anyway. too worked up.” Rick stood and fell in line with the girl’s pacing. Jenna glanced as she saw Rick keep an eye on the darkness as well.

“When is this herd coming?” Rick asked. Jenna worried about some dried skin on her lips.

“Any minute.” There was some rustling. And She stopped and held up a golf club she scavenged. It was one of the expensive ones too, so it was nice and heavy. The girl strained her ears, listening. She heard it: snarls.

“Merle! Daryl! Get the kids into the RV!” she shouted. As soon as the words left her mouth, the walkers stumbled out of the darkness. She swung the club, bursting one head like a rotting melon. Rick followed her lead, shooting the walkers quickly. Several women began to scream in fright as more walkers swayed out of the outlines of the camp. The girl growled, braining another walker.

“DON’T JUST STAND THERE AND CRY LIKE STUPID SHEEP!!! KILL THE DEAD SOBS!!” she hollered. Shane, Morales, and T-Dog got those who couldn’t fight without weapons in the RV. Jenna smiled as she noticed Amy was among them. She rolled her eyes as Andrea took gut shots.

“Hey, you stupid idiot! Aim for the head!!” she shouted. Andrea then fired for headshots, barely hitting her mark, but still falling walkers. Merle stood in front of the RV door shooting the walkers. He began cursing as he ran out of bullets. The older man switched to a wicked-looking knife. Daryl was doing the same. Jenna noticed he seemed to be trying to get closer to her.

A walker snarled too close for her to swing, making her stumbled back. She braced for her ending.

The walker’s head exploded with a squelching sound, painting her in greying blood and blackened brain. She glanced up to see Daryl bash its head in with the butt of his pistol. Sighing with relief, she stood, and Daryl grabbed her and held her close. Jenna could feel that she could die happy now. The gruff man held her close as he finished off the remaining walkers. The attack was over in a few minutes. But it felt longer.


	8. Chapter 8

She didn’t sleep that night. Jenna was pacing when the sun rose the next morning. While everyone else was resting, she separated the bodies. Some of the more rotted walkers were placed to the side for a project. She was tying small onion blossoms to the campers who were slain when Daryl, Rick, and Shane woke up. Shane was watching her as she slid a small knife behind the ear of several campers to prevent them from reanimating.

“Have you been out here all night?” Shane asked, slightly amazed at the girl. Jenna stumbled in her steps as she stood, Rick then caught her when she eventually tripped over her own two feet.

“Dale needed to rest, too,” she mumbled, her speech slurring a bit from tiredness. Daryl looked down at the line of bodies, fresh and turned. He knelt to examine some of the deceased.

“Why are you tying onion blossoms to their hands? And are these…pennies in their mouths?” the burly redneck asked. Jenna nodded.

“The penny does two things: purifies toxin and allows the dead to pay the ferry to the next life. The onion blossoms are to show that I’m sorry for not protecting them,” she mumbled. Daryl glanced towards his tent, watching as Merle stumbled out. The older man scowled as he saw the line of bodies, both walkers and victims.

“What the hell? Who sorted out the stiffs?” he grouched. Jenna chuckled and tried to stand on her own. She swayed and fell to her knees, exhausted. Rick knelt to help her up.

“You need to rest. We’ll take care of the bodies.” Rick whispered, keeping his voice low for her sake. Shane was giving the girl a quizzical scowl. Jenna ignored his looks and leaned against Rick’s taller body. The notion allowed her to stop swaying for a few moments.

“The ones with flowers are our own. Please bury them in the graves Jim was digging. And Tell Jim to come and see me. He was bitten.” The small congregation of men startled at the announcement.

“What do you mean Jim was bitten? How do you know?” Jenna sighed.

“I’ll tell everyone later. Right now, make sure Jim rests and is comfortable. He is going to die today.” Jenna allowed Rick to lead her towards the cruiser. Shane watched as Jenna slipped into the back seat and curled up in a ball. When Rick closed the door, he walked back.

“Rick, how the hell does that girl know about Jim? How did she know about last night’s attack?” Shane asked. Rick held up his hand to stop his friend.

“She said she will tell us later, and she will. I’ve known her for about a week, and she keeps her word.” Rick then moved to lift one of their fallen friends.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Rick yelped and released the body as the twin voices shouted at him. Morgan and Lori were marching towards him. For different reasons.

“Rick, you are still injured! No heavy lifting!” Morgan chastised the younger man. Lori scowled at her ex-husband.

“Why were you talking to that girl?! I don’t want you to talk to that little hussy!” she screeched. Rick rolled his eyes at the woman.

“Jenna isn’t a hussy or a whore. She is just a girl who I owe my life to. Lori, while you and I were comforting Carl, she was up all night tending to the dead. Alone. So, stop it. You and I are no longer together. I can talk to her or any woman I want. You are with Shane, anyway.” Rick then allowed his new friend to lead him towards the cruiser to rest. Lori scowled as she stared at Rick when he sat next to the girl’s restless form.

`.`.`.

Shane was disappointed at Lori. Leading the crass, spoiled woman away, the large man crossed his arms at the woman.

“Lori, I told you before. Rick isn’t sleeping with Jenna. Jenna is a fucking girl! For god’s sake, she is younger than Amy! And for the record, you and Rick aren’t together anymore. And considering you are jealous of a teenager, I’m worried for you.” Lori scowled at the man.

“She is nothing but a hussy!” Shane sighed.

“Lori, you sound like a pouting child. For god’s sake! She is a little girl!! And furthermore, while the rest of us slept, she kept watched and tended to the deceased. She has no one! You have Carl, and Rick and me! Imagine what she is going through right now! She woke up alone in an abandoned hospital, helped Rick find us, defended the camp, and did all the hard work! She has gone through a trauma, and not one damn person is comforting her! And you have the gall to call such a selfless girl a hussy? Grow the fuck up, Lori.” Shane then turned and went to help one of the Dixons lifting walkers to burn. What did he ever see in her, anyway?

Lori was bristling mad. Now Shane was entranced by the hussy. Standing straight, the enraged woman then stalked over to the cruiser where Rick and Jenna were supposed to be resting.

~~~…

Rick was simply sitting in the driver's seat of the cruiser, smiling as he listened to his son and Duane talk about comic books and their favorite ninja turtles. In the passenger seat, reclined back, Jenna was curled in a ball. Rick could see she wasn’t sleeping as she should.

“Jenna, I know you are awake.” he smiled as the girl huffed and eased her seat back up. She was scowling. Rick thought she looked more like a grumpy kitten.

“I always had a hard time sleeping,” she grumbled. Rick chuckled at the girl as she removed her filched boots to rub her feet.

“I think I’m going to go barefoot for a little bit.” bouncing up out of the car, Jenna hopped on her feet, getting a feel for the dry ground. She undid her blouse partially, exposing pale skin and ample swell of bosom. Rick groaned as the girl got both boys gaping at the exposure of flesh. He cuffed his son on the back of the head to make him stop. Jenna laughed. Rick rolled his eyes.

“Morgan said to rest. You haven’t slept all night.” When the hell did Rick become the girl’s guardian? Jenna gave the older man a smile.

“I think I should tell everyone. At least a little bit on what I know, and where I come from,” she explained.

“Only if you think it’s right. I also noticed you and the Dixons are getting along well.” Carl waved goodbye to his father and scurried after Duane to find something kid-friendly to do. Jenna smiled at the two boys. Rick noticed a sliver of sorrow and love aimed at the preteens.

“Merle reminds me of some of my mom’s good friends. And Daryl… he saved me last night. I never had anyone step in and save me. I want to pay him back, somehow.” she explained.

Before Rick could reply, he looked behind the bubbly Jenna as Lori stormed towards the girl. Her doe brown eyes were bronzed with some sort of rage. Rick scrambled to intervene, but his wound made him rise too slow.

Lori slapped Jenna, again. This time knocking her to the ground. The resonating crack of her palm brought forth a blistering bruise.

“How the hell did you know about Shane and me?! Have you been spying on us? Did you know how this hell came to be?!” She screamed at the girl. Jenna was sitting on the ground, cupping her face. Lori growled and reached to grab the girl. But was stopped as her hand was caught in a bruising grip. She turned and came face to face with a very enraged Merle Dixon. The bigger man then pulled Lori away from Jenna, basically dragging the woman. Lori was screeching nonsense at the man, turning to glare at Jenna, who was being helped up by Rick and Daryl.

“LET ME GO, YOU STUPID HICK!! THAT GIRL NEEDS TO TELL ME EVERYTHING SHE KNOWS!!” Lori screamed. Her screaming made the surviving member of the camp turn and watch as Merle threw her at Shane’s feet. The former officer of the law glanced down at the woman.

“Officer Prick. Keep your little bitch on a leash. If I catch her attacking Jenna again, I just might pull her over my knee and tan her ass.” Lori squawked at the threat. Shane was livid, but not at Merle. He glared at Lori but did not say anything. Ignoring the woman, Shane watched as Jenna was now being fretted over by Morgan. The darker-skinned man had a small patch of gauze against her lip. He gritted his teeth at the darkening bruise of the girl’s cheek.

“Jones! Is she alright?” he called out to the doctor. Morgan was shaking with anger.

“She’ll be fine. But she has a split lip. Lori got her with her ring.” murmurs of anger began shuffling around the camp. Rick took a step away from Jenna’s side. He turned to face the group. Clearing his throat, he called for the camp to focus on him.

“Listen up! I’m only going to repeat this once! Stop what you are doing and form a circle around me. Jenna has a few things to say.” The campers listened and stood as Jenna, her lip no longer bleeding, walked over and stood next to Rick.

“I’ll answer all your questions after I am done talking, so please let me finish. My Name is Jenna Redfern. I’m from Montana, and I am not from this world.”


	9. Chapter 9

The surviving group scoffed. Jenn never heard of a unison scoff. Now she has. To the surprise of the camp, Merle came to her rescue.

“What she is saying is true. I wouldn’t have believed her either. But she knows things.” the man responded. Rick nodded in agreement.

“I didn’t believe her either, but its thanks to her I was able to find my family, its thanks to her that not everyone died in last night's attack. It’s thanks to her that we have a doctor amongst us. So let her speak.” Rick snapped at the dubious group. Jenna smiled at the man.

“Thank you. As I stated, I am not from this world. But I know a lot about this world. And that knowledge can and possibly will spare your lives. Where I am from, there are no walkers, only in stories and shows. and games. In my world, you are stories made to show entertainment, to show that the dead aren’t the true enemies. You are people who show my world that love and trust are to be cherished, that humans are the biggest monsters. You show many of us the power of the human spirit, and to never back down or break your spirits. That’s what I knew of this world for ten years. In those ten years, I saw Carl grow into a gentle, but strong-willed man, the kindness in his heart staying with him until his death.” Jenna glanced at Carl as the young boy flinched from her reveal.

“How did I die?” the boy asked. Lori moved to try to shield him from the girl’s madness. Jenna gave the younger boy a soft, kind smile.

“You weren’t supposed to die. You were supposed to live and marry a lovely woman, being a legacy after Rick died. But the world I saw decided to have you die to a walker bite. You gave your life to rescue a man, and your last words were for your father to spare an enemy.” Carl bit the inside of his cheek in thought.

“What else? What else do you know?” the boy asked. Jenna smiled at the kid. He believed her. Taking in another breath, she went back o talking what she knew.

“In my world, I saw you battle enemies that made the walkers look like a mercy kill. You will fight a charismatic, yet conniving man who calls himself the Governor. He would lie to his people and kill any community who he perceived as a threat to his leadership. In my world, he brainwashed Andrea over there to abandon the friend she made over eight months…for a bed and some dick.” Andrea paled at the words.

“I would never leave Amy…what happened to Amy?” she asked. Jenna closed her forest colored eyes.

“She died in last night's attack. You let her turn and then shot her through the side of her head. But you were weak. You were stupid.” Jenna’s words were harsh, she knew this, but they were necessary. Andrea’s flinched and tightened hold on her sister made her know her point got across. Amy clung to her older sister, realizing she could have been a victim last night. Dale spoke up next.

“What else happened? Please tell me there is some good left in humanity.” Jenna smiled at the older man.

“There is some good. But it is very few and far between the bad. After Andrea died because of the Governor, there were a few months of peace. It was much needed. Rick was the leader, and he took in the once disillusioned folks that were under the Governor. Many of the younger adults and teenagers were star struck by Daryl.” she was chuckling at this point. Daryl scowled in confusion.

“Why the hell did they see me as a goddamn celebrity?” Jenna grinned.

“I know why the women did, but the men and children saw you as a legendary hunter, which you kinda are, and they knew that you are strong, funny, and very protective. You made damn sure all the children went to bed with full bellies and all the mothers didn’t mind the eye candy.” Several women made tittering sounds at the remark. Merle cackled as he caught sight of his brother’s angry blush. He snarled and turned his back to the group. Merle then piped up.

“What else happened? I know you told me I died for my brother, but what happened to cause it?” the burly older man asked. Jenna’s smiled grew faint and sullen.

“You were in a drug rage, and Rick handcuffed you to a pipe…kinda like he did this time. But you were left alone, going delirious with exposure. You cut off your hand and cauterized it with a burger press. The Governor found you and because of your condition, you trusted him. Did everything he said. But you lost faith in him when he made you fight Daryl to the death. But before that, he made you torture Glenn over there.” Glenn squawked at the reveal. Jenna sighed and continued.

“Not long after you were reunited, you made Daryl choose; you or the first people who loved him for him. It wasn’t easy for him, but you always told him ‘blood is blood.’ In the end, he chose the group over you. But you are kind of a prick, so of course, there was tension. You did give insight into the Governor’s way of thinking and decided to be the one to do the dirty work. A woman. The Governor wanted a certain woman to torture and kill because she put down his walker daughter. You were gonna do it too, but at the last minute, you let her go. Instead, you took out several of the Governor’s men…only to be killed by him. Daryl was the one who found you and put you down.” Jenna kept her gaze on Merle. The older man for once, looking morose. Jenna sighed and picked at her nails.

“I know a whole lot more. Like how Shane is jealous of Rick and his wife. I know that Dale lost his wife to cancer a while before all this fresh hell started. I know that Morales is going to try to head to Alabama with his family, and they will find nothing.” Morales spoke up now.

“How do you know that? I was just about to talk to you guys about heading that way.” the man asked. Jenna rolled her eyes.

“You listen as well as a cauliflower eared stepchild.” Merle was cackling at the insult.

“Where the hell are you from?” he asked. Jenna smiled.

“Montana,” she then turned back to confront Morales, “You are going to head to Alabama for your wife’s sake. But somehow, you lose your family. You are rescued by another man who makes the Governor seem like a pansy. You blame Rick for everything and were about to kill him too. Daryl killed you instead.” Morales took a step back. He looked towards his nervous wife.

“If you want to go, go. It’s your choice. But think of your children. We are all safer in a group than alone.” Jenna then stretched her arms to the sky, standing on the tips of her toes. She groaned at the burn of the stretch.

“I know more. Much more. I know that Lori is pregnant with Shane’s kid, that Carol knows how to set dislocated limbs thanks to Ed, I know that Andrea doesn’t know how to shoot a damn gun or take it off safety, I know that Merle enjoys reading but enjoys making people question his sanity more. I know that Shane stole the principles car when you guys were in high school, I know that Rick’s brother is in Spain. And I know more, so much more. I know by the end of ten years, only two of this group would still be alive. But right now, Let’s bury our dead and get the hell out of here. I know a place where we can find more helpful folks. But please listen to me. If I say something, ask you to do something, please do it.” Jenna then stretched again, the hem of her shirt rising over her soft belly.

“She’s what?!” Shane then turned to Lori, who was very pale. Her mouth was opening and closing like a gasping trout. Jenna flinched and then gave the enraged man a chastised grin.

“Oops.”

~~~…

Jenna sat next to the pale and feverish Jim. The older man was rasping as he fought to breathe. The others have listened to her and made sure he was comfortable in the RV.

“You should leave me by the side of the road.” he rasped. Jenna gave him some water.

“I ain’t going to let you die alone. I won’t let you turn.” Jim smiled at the girl

“You remind me of my late wife. She was stubborn and a sweetheart, like you.” Jenna smiled back. She pressed her forehead against his.

“I would have liked to meet her. You remind me of my uncle Justin. Kinda look like him too, minus to porn mustache.” Jim chuckled.

“You don’t have any family, do you? Why do you care if I’m comfortable or if we all live?” he asked. Jenna smiled again, her face full of sorrow.

“It’s because I have no one that I want to save as many as I can. I’m alone. But that doesn’t mean everyone else should be. Already, I’m changing the timeline. And I think that’s good. I know you lost your sons and wife and see this as a way to be with them again.” Jim groaned as he lifted himself upright.

“Don’t let me turn into one of those things. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” He asked. Jenna nodded and gave the man some more water.

“I won’t. Get some rest.” She tucked in the older man, making him smile.

“Did you have kids? Before you came here?” he asked. Jenna paused in giving the gentle comforts to the man.

“In a way. I raised my little brothers and a couple of my nephews and cousins.” Jim coughed and allowed his weak body to relax.

“Thank you. Can I ask…Is dying…is dying painful?” he asked.

“It’s quicker than falling asleep.” She then stood and left the RV. Jim cried. For once, he felt relief. 

“If we head up this way, towards Greene County, we can stop by this highway and scavenge for supplies. We have to be quick and quiet. A large herd of walkers will be right behind us. Sophia, I want you to stay close to me, okay?” Jenna ordered. Sophia was clutching the cloth doll, she nodded and took a few steps closer to the older girl.

“Okay, Miss Jenna.”

“Now, we can possibly stay here in this area for a few nights. I’m going to ask Merle and Daryl if they can hunt. If we smoke a lot of the meat that is hunted, we can have food last longer without rotting. Minus Lori and the kids, everyone needs to get used to eating at least once a day. Does everyone know the rules of three?” Only Shane and Rick raised their hands. Jenna sighed and ran her small hands through her hair and face. It was going to be a long apocalypse.


	10. Chapter 10

Jenna was on top of the mare, the horse going at a steady trot behind the convoy of cars. Jim passed away an hour ago, Jenna kept her promise and didn’t let him turn. They did spare an hour to bury him properly at least. Rick gave Jenna a walkie talkie so she can stay in touch with the front of the convoy.

“Jenna, how’s the rear looking?” Rick asked. Jenna raised the device to speak, the mare slowly down a bit so it’ll be easier to talk.

“Better than Merle’s crusty ass socks, so that’s a big improvement. We should be reaching Greene county soon.” Rick laughed at her joke and jab at Merle.

“Roger that. What shall we do once we arrive?” he asked. Jenna placed the walkie in a pocket she made with her shirt, then swung her golf club to bash in an unlucky walker.

“Create a perimeter with the cars, if you kill some walkers, line the perimeter with the bodies. The smell should mask us for a little while.” She smiled as she heard disgust over the other end.

“I know, its gross. But I’m thinking of the safety of the group. Hey Rick. I got a quick job for Carl. Think he’ll enjoy it?” She heard Rick chuckle.

“He heard you. Ready when you are.” Jenna smiled and brought her mare into a slightly faster canter.

“Carl, in the backseat of the cruiser, one of the chickens laid an egg. Can you find it before it rots and sticks up the car?”

“Jenna, Carl said yes, and he is looking for it now,” Rick announced.

“That should keep him busy for a little bit. I think I see the cluster of cars from my point of view. This mare needs a break.” Jenna stroked the sweat sticky neck of the mare.

“Copy that.” She clicked the walkie off and gently spurred the mare to hurry as the cars slowed down.

~~~…

Duane, Carl, Sophia, and the Morales children were playing with the chickens as Jenna slowed to a stop. The mare was heaving, sticky foam clinging to her mouth. Jenna hopped off the poor animal, wincing as she jarred her ankle. Sophia walked over to Jenna.

“What’s wrong with her?” the younger girl asked. Jenna was trickling some of the water over the mare’s forelock.

“She’s tired, and she’s sore. This heat ain’t helping either.” cupping some of the water, Jenna allowed the worn-out mare to drink small sips.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to have her drink out of a bucket instead of your hand?” the skinny tween asked.

“Not really. She’s been running for a while, and if she drinks too fast, it can make her sick. Once she cool’s down I’ll get her a bucket. Carl, do you have the egg I told you to find? If so, bring it here. I’m going to feed the mare the egg.” Carl gave her a weird look.

“I thought horses only eat hay and stuff,” he questioned, bringing over the egg while he asked. Jenna rummaged through one of the abandoned cars for a bowl, grinning as she found not only a bowl but a bag of oatmeal. She mixed the oats with the egg and added in a bit of water. The mare’s ears perked as she realized Jenna was making mash. She began to bob her head in eagerness. The kids laughed at the playfulness of the horse.

“Who wants to hold the bowl?” she asked. The children began badgering her to feed the mare, so she chose the Morales boy.

“What is your name? I never did get around to asking.” Jenna asked as the young boy held the mash for the mare.

“Cipriano. My family calls me Cipri for short.” Jenna faltered. Burning tears began gathering in her eyes.

“Is that so? You kids stay near the mare now. Try to come up with a name for her.” Jenna fought back her tears as all five kids fed and played with the livestock. Making sure there were no walkers around them, she allowed herself to cry.

“Miss Jenna?” with a yelp, Jenna turned to face Sophia.

“Yes, Sophia?” she replied, painting a smile on her face. But Sophia saw her cry.

“Why were you crying?” the little girl asked. Jenna allowed the smile to fade.

“It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it.” she tried to evade the nosey girl’s question, but Sophia was like a bulldog with a new rope. Jenna caved.

“He has my brother’s name.” Sophia understood and didn’t ask anymore. She instead hugged Jenna, ignoring the way she flinched as she was embraced by the girl. Jenna’s inner dam broke. She released her sobs. The other four children and the animals all cluttered around her, giving her some long-needed comfort.

~~~…

Rick, Shane, and Morgan were watching as the younger children cuddled with Jenna as she cried. All three of their hearts felt like breaking.

“I keep forgetting. She’s a little girl, not much older than them.” Morgan whispered. Rick nodded in agreement.

“I’m surprised she lasted this long without cracking. Let’s give her a few minutes to cry. She needs it.” Rick then turned to face Shane, crossing his arms in thought.

“Rick, I understand that we need to let Jenna cry, but as you stated, we need her. Crying ain’t going to do any good.” Shane gruffed out.

“Shane, don’t. If she needs to cry, let her cry. She has no one to comfort her in this hell. Heaven forbid I try and set Lori off again. None of the women are even letting Merle be alone with her, they all think he may hurt her.” Rick explained. Shane sighed, finally realizing he was right. He nodded.

“Fine. We’ll set up a perimeter as she said. Did she say anything else?” the larger man asked.

“Yeah, if we kill walkers, line the perimeter with the bodies. The smell should mask us a bit.” Shane made a face at the comment. But he nodded and went on his way.

Rick waited for Jenna to finish crying. Once she was done, he smiled as she playfully popped all the kids in the forehead, reaching down to pick up a chicken. She lead her little entourage over to the adults, the two younger girls running ahead towards their mothers with a chicken in their arms.

“Hey, Rick. Everything alright?” Rick noted the redness around her eyes from the crying.

“Yeah, everything is fine. How are you doing?” Jenna blushed.

“I’ve been better,” she said, her tone firm and bland. Rick scowled.

“You know, you don’t have to be a little badass all the time. If you need a break every now and then…. take a break.” Rick whispered to her. Jenna gave the still injured man a soft, kind smile. She hugged the older man.

“I will.” Rick smiled. What else could he do?

Walking back to the group, Rick took note that Merle was casually blocking Lori from doing anything, like approach Jenna who was rearranging the firewood into a bizarre little teepee. The pregnant woman gave up and went off to pout in the car. The five little kids were standing around Jenna as she explained what she was doing. Standing as her guard, Daryl was cleaning some squirrels, occasionally tossing fat scraps to nosy hens. The unnamed mare was standing on the side of the road, munching on dandelions. Rick waited for Jenna to finish whatever she was doing before he approached.

“So, Jenna. Now, what do we do?” Shane asked, beating Rick. Jenna stood and stretched, making a mewling groan as she let lactic acid burn her muscles.

“We wait here for a few days. Unless we can find a horse trailer, we may have wait here even longer. This mare needs rest. And so do I.” Jenna replied. Shane grumbled.

“I believe we should head for Fort Benning,” he stated. Jenna shook her head.

“Not a good idea, when things go FUBAR, the first things to hit the fan are bases. They get overrun and eventually abandoned. Besides, even if we do make it there and clear it of the walkers, who might be wearing fucking armor mind you, it’ll be too big to defend regularly.” Merle was nodding in agreement.

“She’s right. Besides, we’ll also need a steady water source and Fort Benning doesn’t have one close by.” The older redneck then sat down on a bumper of a truck, rubbing his brow.

“Withdrawal headaches?” Jenna asked. Merle groaned but nodded his response. Jenna then took to the woods. The camp was confused.

“Where is she going? We need her!” Carol began to panic. Rick tried to calm everyone but failed as one of the kids cried in fear. Turning to see what the child was freaking out at, Rick swore as a bloated walker stumbled out. No one had a weapon ready at the moment.

A gunshot rang out, dropping the walker. Out of the woods, a large man stumbled holding a rifle.

“Are you folks okay? The dead one had gorged on some deer I was hunting.” Rick bit back a laugh as Daryl grumbled in sympathy. He stepped forward to greet the man.

“We’re alright. But one of our own ran into the woods for some reason. We are just waiting for her. I’m Rick Grimes. Thank you for getting the walker before we ended up as walker lunch.” Southern hospitality had Rick extending his hand to shake the larger man’s. The man grasped Rick’s hand and shook it once.

“I’m Otis. Sorry for spooking your kids there.” before he could continue, the bushes rustled again. Otis brought up his gun and took fire as a pale, med streaked limb parted the bushes. He fired.

~~~…

“Ow. owowowowowowowowowowowowowow!!!” Jenn let out a crying whine as her shoulder was now blazing with hot, searing pain. She dropped the opium lettuce.

“Oh shit! Jenna!” she heard Rick’s voice let out a clamor as she fell to her knees grasping her shoulder. Behind him fell another familiar man.

“Thanks a lot, Otis,” she grumbled. Otis, the man behind Rick, faltered in his steps as his name left her lips.

“Do I know you?” he asked. Jenna glared at the larger man.

“No, you don’t. Now, before I end up bleeding to death, can we go see Hershel now?” she asked/ordered, her voice sweet like poisonous honey. Otis paled.

“How do you…” Finally, Daryl snapped.

“It doesn’t matter how she knows right now! Just take her to this Hershel guy before her blood attracts walkers!!!” Jenna sighed in relief.

“Thank you! Now, if you excuse me…I’m gonna pass out.” and she did.


	11. Chapter 11

Who the hell was holding her?

Why the hell did her shoulder feel like it was shattered and ripped apart?

Where the hell is Lucky LS?

What the hell is that smell?

Jenna was groggy as she opened her eyes. She looked up to the person who was holding her…and almost passed out again, this time in bliss. She was being held by Daryl fucking Dixon. The older man was holding her like she was something precious.

“What happened?” she groaned. Daryl glanced down at her as he then began to carry her up some stairs into a very familiar white house.

“You got shot,” he replied. Jenna snorted.

“I got that much. What happened after that?” she asked. Behind Daryl and out of her sight, Merle was cackling.

“You fainted. Like a drooping damsel.” the older Dixon replied. Jenna grunted and used her little bit of energy to flip him off. Merle simply cackled again.

“Bett that it was me than one of the kids,” she grumbled. Daryl settled her down onto a cushy chair. Jenna yelped as her shoulder pulled on her now tacky feeling shirt.

“Don’t move around too much.” the kind voice ordered her. Jenna looked up to see Hershel Greene. She smiled.

“Dr. Greene. I’m sorry to meet like this, but it seems your friend was a mite trigger happy.” Jenna joked. At the sound of his name, Hershel paused in his steps.

“How did you…” he started.

“Don’t ask. It’s just a headache thinking about it.” Daryl shot to the older man. Jenna glanced behind the old vet and smirked as Rick and Merle nodded in agreement. She bit back a shout of laughter as Hershel turned to look at the men she was smiling at. Frowning, the older man turned back to his injured patient.

“Moving on. I’m going to need you to remove your shirt, so I can get to your wound.” Jenna nodded and tried her best to lift her shoulder to unbutton the blouse. She stopped and bit into her other uninjured shoulder to scream.

“That hurt more than I thought.” she whimpered. She then felt someone’s rough but small hands ease her shoulder out of the ruined shirt. Glancing through her lashes, she saw Maggie Greene gently manipulating her arm out of the blouse, but only the injured side.

“Wow. You are prettier than I remembered. Hi Maggie. I’m Jenna.” Maggie paused as Jenna addressed the older woman.

“How did you know my name?” she asked. Jenna gave her a pain-filled smile.

“I’ll tell you and your sister and daddy later. I’m more focused on getting this bullet out of my shoulder.” Maggie was visibly startled, but she continued her ministrations. Once her wound was exposed, she took a step back and allowed her father to approach. She shot a few skeptical looks at the three men waiting by the door.

“So, Doc. Shall we continue?” Hershel was then digging out bullet fragments from her shoulder. Jenna somehow stuffed a piece of her shirt into her mouth to bite down on as he dug out the fragments. She stole a look at the bloody pieces of metal being retrieved from her shoulder. She counted five splintery shards.

“There we go now. Last bit.” Jenna moaned with pain and relief as Hershel pulled out the last fragment. She spat out the ruined piece of shirt.

“That hurt a lot more than I thought.” she mewled. Hershel then rubbed some odd numbing cream over her wound and began to stitch it up. Jenna fought her wincing.

“You have some wounds on your back. Old wounds. Are those men...hurting you?” Jenna turned around, faster than she should be able.

“Hey, those men have been nicer to me than any of my family have been. Don’t you DARE hint that they are abusive.” Hershel took a step back as Jenna out right snarled at him.

“I’m sorry. I just needed to ask, as a good Christian.” Jenna rolled her eyes at the comment.

“No offense, Doc, But I never met a truly good Christian. I know I am currently stuck in the Bible Belt, but when shit hits the fan, Christianity means jack squat.” She knew she blunt and a bit rude, but she had to make her point. Jenna then stripped off the shirt and held it in front of her pale chest.

“Listen Hershel. I was heading this direction for a reason, but before I can go into it: you need to put your wife to rest. She’s not sick like you think. She is dead, and she is suffering.” Hershel took a step back, his wizened eyes wide with shock.

“How did you know about Annette?” he asked. Jenna stood.

“I’m going to be very blunt: the things in your barn, they aren’t your family or your friends. They are walkers, nothing but animated and shambling shells of the people they once were. There is no cure, there is no one to save them. Please, Hershel. Let them rest. They are suffering. Letting them walk among us is cruel. If you let them stay animated, they are going to hurt someone else. What if they attack Beth? or Maggie?” Hershel was staring at Jenna as she then used her shirt to create a sling.

“That’s my wife. My son, my neighbors,” he replied, his voice very soft. Jenna closed her eyes in solace.

“Letting them walk, you are not letting your daughters mourn for them. They are gone. And deep down, you know this. For the good of your family, lay them to rest.” Jenna walked out of the room, her piece stated. Hershel slumped into the chair she occupied, and he cried.

~~~…

Duane, Cipriano, and Carl were slack-jawed as they watched Jenna approach the waiting group: topless. Merle caught the sight of the teenage boys gawking and threw back his head to cackle. Daryl glanced to see what he was laughing at, balked, and ducked his head. Merle laughed even harder at his brother’s blushing face.

“Carl, what are you...OH MY GOD!!!!” Rick turned as he listened to Lori screech and belittle Jenna…again. But he could see why this time, but that didn’t mean she needed to bitch to the girl. Jenna was not wearing her shirt, the fabric was being used a sling, keeping her arm immobile. Thank god for her bra. Even though it is dirty and grey, it was keeping her at least somewhat decent. She was still tacky with blood, her wound was freshly stitched and the scars. Behind him, Daryl and Merle made choking sounds.

“Damn girl…what the ever fuck happened to you?” Merle croaked out. Jenna paused, a bit confused.

“I…got shot? You are a witness.” she snipped. Jenna then began to rummage through the cruiser, casually booting one of her chickens from pecking at her feet. The bird squawked indigently.

“Not the gunshot! What happened…to your chest? Your back? Where did you get all those scars?” Daryl croaked as well. Jenna’s eyes widen in recognition as she stepped away from the car, clutching one of Merle’s shirts.

“Oh. The scars. My mama was not a nice woman. Her friends were just as bad. But better me than my little brothers.” The group, including Lori, balked at the casualness she showed to her abuse. Jenna then headed for the RV, Sophia following her like a chick. Rick, Morgan, Shane, and the Dixon brothers were all pale as they saw more scars on the small of her back too. Morale and his wife then grabbed their daughter and cuddled her. Lori and Morgan went to grab their children as well. Shane shared a look with Rick.

“Did she say anything about her family?” he asked. Rick sighed and ran a hand through his curly hair.

“Her mother was insane and a murderer. She has no one. She had some little brothers, but I think her mother killed them.” Rick glanced at the RV, noting that Jenna was walking out and seemed to be explaining something to Sophia, she was smiling as she walked, keeping her arm in the makeshift sling under Merle’s shirt. Lori even had tears in her eyes.

“How can she still be so sweet and helpful? When everyone has only hurt her? Even me. I feel so terrible. I can’t believe I ever thought of her as a hussy or selfish. She only tried to help us.” Lori felt the creeping of tears tickle her eyes as she reconciled her cruelty to the gentle girl.

“Why is she wearing my shirt?” Merle asked as Jenna then showed Sophia on how to snap branches for kindling.

“I actually can answer that! It’s hard for her to find shirts that fit, she is very busty for a teenager.” Merle chuckled.

“Must be because she is a little Mexican lady.” Morales gave the other man a weird look. He and his wife allowed their little girl to flock to Jenna for some survival lessons.

“No racist insult?” he joked. Merle had to audacity to look castigated.

“I’ll admit, I’m a racist prick more than I let on. But I never mean any of the shit I say. Besides, kinda hard to be a racist to the little lady who made sure you didn’t cut your hand off in a drug haze.”

“Fair enough.” They spared Jenna a glance as the children listened to her odd wisdom. Then Rick paled as he spotted Hershel march towards Jenna, a gun in his hand.

~~~…

Jenna was showing the kids how to break branches again when Hershel walked over to the girl. The old farmer was holding the very rifle that shot her.

“I’m not strong enough to do it myself,” he stated.

“I figured,” Jenna replied. Hershel then kneeled in front of the smaller girl. He presented the rifle. Jenna grabbed the warm weapon. The weight of the rifle was anchoring. Looking behind the kneeling old man, Jenna saw Beth and Maggie running for him, Otis, and his pretty wife Patricia right behind the two girls. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Rick stalking over, the Dixon men right behind him, like bulldogs.

“Please, put Annette to rest for me? and Shawn?” Hershel asked. Jenna moved to hand the rifle to a startled Rick.

“Since I’m injured, I’ll ask Rick and the others to do it. It’s best if you grab your daughters and wait inside.” Hershel nodded and tried to stand. Despite her wound, Jenna helped the older man get to his feet.

“Thank you.” Hershel motioned for his family to head back to the house, his daughters clamoring and protesting. Jenna watched as he told his daughters on what she was going to do. He did because now Maggie was storming over to her. She sighed and closed her eyes as she predicted the older girl to smack her.

SMACK!

Yep. Jenna winced as she staggered back from the blow.

“Seriously, why is everyone hitting me?! This is getting old,” she grumbled. Rick lurched forward and hauled the skinny brunette away from the shorter girl.

“She’s going to kill my mother!” Maggie screamed, causing the group to pause.

“Maggie!” Hershel shouted, he grabbed his unruly daughter and spun her to face him.

“I asked her to. If you have to be mad at anyone, be mad at me. And she was right. Letting Annette and Shawn stay in the barn,” the group began to make murmurs at the announcement, “it's cruel not just to them, but to us.” Maggie hiccupped and buried her head into her father’s chest to cry. Hershel glanced at Jenna. No words were said. He leads his grieving daughters back to the house, Otis and Patricia walking behind them.

“So… there are walkers in the barn.” Might as well state it as plain as possible. Shane and the rest of the men, minus Rick, all made murmurs of fear and confusion.

“I already knew beforehand. When he was fixing up my shoulder, I confronted Hershel about the walker that was his wife. I explained to him just like I did to Morgan.” Morgan bowed his head in remembrance. Jenna handed the rifle to Rick as Duane buried his head into her chest.

“I can’t do it. But Rick, Shane, and Merle, I want to form a barrier towards the barn, guns ready. Daryl and Morgan, you two stand behind them to cover them as they reload their weapons. Make sure you get headshots. We don’t want to waste bullets. Kids, I want you to stay close to me or Amy. Andrea, you keep watching to make sure none trail off. Dale, you are the kindest of all of us, and you have experience with spousal loss. Please, go comfort, Hershel. I’ll stay nearby and supervise. The gunshots may draw in more walkers, so we best be ready.” The group nodded at the bizarre girl’s orders. Then they dispatched to grab their weapons.

Jenna sighed and pinched the bridge of her eyes. Her mare and the hens were settled next to her, the horse happily eating fresh grass as the chicken nipped at bugs and flowers.

“Miss Jenna?”

“Sophia? What is it?” Sophia nibbled on her thumbnail.

“Was your mama like my daddy? Is that why you have a lot of scars?” Jenna gave the girl a calming smile. She sat down in the grass, making her skirt flare out to make a blanket for the younger girl to sit one comfortably.

“In a way, she was. But she was worse. My mama preferred the company of shifty men to her kids. She gave us up to one of my aunts, I ended up calling her mom as well, and she was nice. She and my uncle taught me a lot. But every so often I had to go back to my birth mom. I didn’t have to, I chose to. That way she can hurt me and spare my brothers. I got all the scars and beatings, my brothers got all the happy memories with her. While they got to go to the movies or the park or store, I stayed home to clean up my blood from the carpets. I hated my mother. But I couldn’t help but love her too.” Sophia bit her lip.

“My daddy would yell at me, but he never hit me. Only my mom.” Jenna grabbed Sophia to hug her with her one good arm.

“You still didn’t have to go through such a thing.”

“Neither did you.” Jenna chuckled, to her it was a bitter sound.

“I guess so. I would never know now. My mama died.” Sophia glanced towards Jenna’s forest colored eyes.

“What was your mama’s name?”

“…Alice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clear things up on How Jenna acts towards her abuse: This is how I acted when my mother abused me. Unlike Jenna, I got the help I needed. How she is acting is how I acted. I know it seems I'm being pretty blase, but I have done this. THis is just to clarify things.


	12. Chapter 12

Sophia fell asleep on Jenna's skirt, so she wasn’t going anywhere. One of the unnamed hens was clucking about and settled her fat little body on Sophia’s lap. Lucky LS was pecking at some any by her foot as the last hen was scratching at some dirt. The mare nickered as she too laid down on the ground.

“That mare trusts you.” Looking up, Jenna saw Hershel walking over holding some cloth in his arms. The old man groaned as he sat down next to the girls.

“I figured as much. I remember my uncle telling me only when a horse absolutely trusts its owner, or is sick, they will lay down. She maybe both. I haven’t figured out a name for her yet.” Jenna was flicking bits of clover to the mare, watching it pile up on her nose. Hershel chuckled.

“You knew I was a doctor, but not the one everyone else thinks.” Jenna nodded.

“I know. You are a veterinarian. But somehow, I think that is more helpful.” Hershel chuckled.

“How so? Please enlighten this old farmer.”

“Okay.” Jenna repositioned Sophia so she was laying on her lap.

“Well for starters, you already know jury rig supplies, since a lot of supplies can be replaced with a close second. This is because not a lot of equipment is made for animals. As for medicine, a lot of veterinary meds can be supplemented for human medication. It’s the same except for dosage. And another thing: because you are working with animals, you are less likely to be exposed to the main strain of the illness that turns the dead into animated puppets.” Jenna explained. Hershel was laughing.

“I never thought I would be laughing during this turmoil of times. But I have to admit, you are indeed correct. Now I have to ask you: are you a prophet?”

“…okay, was not expecting that. But if it makes you feel better, then I can be a prophet. Where I’m from. I’ve seen all this before. But instead of me getting shot, it was that little boy with the crooked grin and now wearing his daddy’s hat. He almost died too. Gutshot. But you had good, steady hands and saved his life. probably helped it was buckshot instead of a rifle bullet.” before she can continue, a barrage of gunshots echoed from the barn area. Hershel flinched, Jenna placed her hand on his shoulder. The barrage was over within a few minutes. The sound did wake up Sophia.

“What’s that noise?” she mumbled. Jenna kept a hand on her.

“The guys are just taking care of a problem that needed to be settled.” Searching the farm, Jenna’s eyes landed on Carol and Lori. The two women were doing their best to comfort the Greene girls. Since Hershel was by her side, she kept her arm on the man, comforting him. Sophia patted Hershel on his knee.

“Trust Big Sister Jenna. She knows things.” Sophia stated. Hershel smiled at the plucky teenage girl.

“I’m starting to realize that.”

~~~…

“Missy?”

“Doesn’t fit. Strawberry?”

“She doesn’t look like a strawberry. What about Blossom?”

“Nah. I like the name Ranger.”

“She’s a girl! She needs a girl's name!”

“Fine… What about Artemis?”

“She’s too old. I like Scarlet.”

“She doesn’t look like a Scarlet.”

“What the hell are you kids doing?” the three boys and the Morales girl yelped and jumped as Jenna snuck upon them. The older girl was smiling. Sophia was holding her one good hand, also giggling. Carl decided to be the leader.

“We were trying out names for the horse. But we cannot seem to agree on one.” Jenna giggled at the boys. Carl huffed at the older girl.

“Well, what would you call her, then?” he growled out. Jenna paused in her giggling. The mare was giving herself a nice dust bath, the two unnamed hens copying the massive beast.

“Oakley. Like Annie Oakley.” Sophia piped up. The small group glanced at her.

“Oakley. I like it.” The younger kids all gave murmurs of approval. The newly christened Oakley let out a snort and stood to shake off the dust. One of the chickens squawked as she then cantered over to Jenna. Oakley nickered and nibbled on some of Jenna’s hair.

“Hey, Miss Jenna?” Cipriano piped up.

“Yeah? What is it?” Cipriano reached out to pet Oakley.

“Why did you give the egg earlier to Oakley? I thought horse only eat hay and grass and fruit?” Jenna grinned, her eyes flashing with slight insanity.

“Oh Well, Horses are actually omnivores. They can and will eat meat, mostly mice and chickens. Cows do the same thing. Oakley needed something to fill her up, and the egg can give her some much-needed protein. When I found her, she was alone. Her old masters opted out and left her and the chickens. I’m surprised she didn’t try to eat them. She must have eaten other birds though. The hens avoided her until they saw her eating fresh grass. Did that clear up some things?” The three little boys nodded. The Morales girl also nodded.

“You know a lot. How do you know so much?” she asked.

“I paid attention in science class and I read a lot.”

Jenna watched as the older folks strolled back towards her. The Greene girls were openly wailing now as they were being comforted by their equally grieving father. The old farmer was then leading his girls back to the farmhouse. He stopped to mutter something to Rick but continued on his trek. Rick then turned to walk over to Jenna.

“Before we move on…Jenna. We need to talk. I would have asked us to be alone, but the Dixons wanted to join in, as does Morgan. I think you know what we are going to ask.” Jenna grimaced.

“Well, fuck.”

~~~…

The Dixon Brothers, Morgan, and Rick were leading her to the now cleared out barn. Carol was right behind them. For some reason, that made her feel a bit better. Jenna grimaced again as she saw Morgan was holding a bag of bandages and medicine. Once in the barn, Jenna began to pace like a trapped cat. Hell, if she were a cat, she would have bristled.

Merle and Daryl stood by the door as Carol tried to coax Jenna into removing her shirt. At the words, Jenna tried to bolt. Luckily she was much smaller than the Dixons and was able to easily duck under their muscled arms as she took off for the woods. She heard the adults chasing on after her.

Quickly, she then scaled a tall and old walnut tree. She hid in the foliage.

“Where the hell did she go?” Merle panted as he stopped under Jenna’s hiding tree. Daryl was looking for her trail. Jenna smirked with mild petty pride.

“I can’t find her trail. It stops about three feet from the tree, but then just vanishes.” Daryl was scratching his head.

“Did she climb a tree or something?” Carol asked.

“If she did, she took a flying leap right here and launched herself into a tree. I bet she could do it, too.” Daryl replied. Merle huffed.

“Even is she did, we would have heard her hauling ass up a trunk. The lowest branch is still higher than her head.” Jenna heard Rick huff as well.

“We’ll just go back to the camp then. She ain’t going to go far. At least I hope not.” Jenna counted several footsteps leading out of the woods before she released her bated breath.

“I know you’re up there! Look, you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. But can you come out of the tree? I feel like a damn fool talking to a bunch of unripe nuts.” Now Jenna huffed. She used the branches like a ladder until she was on the last one. The branch was thick, so she just sat down on it. Daryl sighed and climbed up right beside her.

“I saw your scars. And I know you know about my scars. Merle asked me after the herd attacked the camp back at the quarry. It shocked the shit out of me, but he explained that you told him to ask about them. My daddy liked to use a belt, sometimes he would be old fashioned and make me cut a switch. Merle tried his best to shield me from a lot of the beatings when I was little. They got worse when he was given the choice of Army or prison. Look, how I was treated made me bitter and cruel and angry. So logic says you should be just as angry and bitter and cruel. So, why aren’t you?” Jenna leaned onto Daryl’s arm, taking solace at just listening to his pulse of muscle.

“I guess I have been acting weird for someone like me. I grew used to people not caring. And those who did would come snooping around and I would end up in more trouble. So, I started to just smile. I made sure to make my brothers laugh at least three times a day. And the more I smiled, the fewer people would ask invasive questions. The abuse wasn’t too bad, as long as it happened to me only. My mom’s boyfriends were worse than my mother. They would make me strip in front of them and…”

“You don’t have to say anymore.” Daryl cut in. Jenna fought back the burn of angry tears. She was picking at the bark of the tree.

“I made a deal with one of her boyfriends. He called himself Critter, and I told him he could do whatever he wanted with me. But he must stay away from little brothers. He wants to rape me. Fine. He wants to see how many burns I can get before I cry. Fine. But if he laid a hand on my little brothers, on my boys, I would make sure they will never find his body. He didn’t believe me at first until he made a joke about replacing me with my baby brother. I laced his food with glass shards. I smile, and laugh and act silly, so no one could see how much I was screaming in my head, how much I was suffering. Then one day, my mom got arrested, and for once in my life…I was free. I was safe. My brothers were safe. I can do whatever I wanted. I started to try in school. I made friends, I started to see myself as something pretty and cherishable. But my mom…when she got out, she invited everyone over for a meal. Everyone but me. I never knew. I was in the shower when I got the call, and the news was playing what happened the night before. She…she killed them. She killed my brothers, my sisters, my grandmother, my niece, and then herself. Three years later, I swallowed a bunch of sleeping pills. I then woke up here.” Jenna felt her body shaking as she fought hard to not cry. Daryl handed her a bandana to wipe her eyes.

“Oh. I didn’t realize I was crying.” using a corner of the blue cloth, Jenna fought down a flinch as Daryl, DARYL! Gave her a much-needed hug. The older man held onto her as she started to struggle. She then gave in and finally cried her heart out. She cried harder than she did when being comforted by the kids. She cried as her shoulder began to throb in pain. She cried as she felt Daryl crying too. She cried for all the pain she went through the last week. But most of all, she cried simply because someone cared for her.

~~~…

Daryl was carrying Jenna for the second time that day. This time she was getting in a much-needed sleep. The sun was beginning to set as they walked back into the camp.

“Daryl, Hershel says the kids can sleep in the house. Including her.” Rick whispered as he entered the fading light, casting a silhouette. Daryl grunted and headed for the house, a trail of sleepy kids right behind him.

Hershel had Daryl place Jenna onto the couch. He covered her with a blanket. Jenna was still clinging to Daryl’s hand.

“Stay here as well. I don’t think she would react well if she woke and you were gone.” Daryl nodded and got himself comfortable on the floor. The kids all grumbled with sleep and began to cuddle with his legs. For once, he didn’t mind the little ankle-biters. He felt like he was scraped raw. Hershel handed the younger man a blanket and pillow.

“You look like hell,” Daryl grunted.

“I never thought being a sounding board would be so painful,” he whispered. Hershel patted Daryl’s shoulder.

“That girl was adamant that I knew you were good men. Since she seems like a little prophet to me, I’ll take her word for it. I know it’s early but get some rest.” Daryl nodded to Hershel a goodnight and settled himself comfortable. He was asleep within seconds.

~~~…

She was laying on something soft. Opening her eyes, Jenna sat up, ignoring the numbness in her shoulder from her gunshot. Now she was confused. She was on a couch.

“You’re awake.” turning towards the speaker, Jenna noticed that Daryl was resting by her side on the floor. The older man was calm and quiet as she tried to stretch her muscles.

“Sorry for crying on you last night,” Jenna mumbled. Daryl stood and stretched as well.

“Don’t worry about it. It seemed like you needed it.” the older man then helped Jenna to her feet, making sure not to budge her injured arm.

“Come on. It seems that we need the guidance of our little prophet.” She took a deep breath and stood as straight as she could.

“We have a lot of planning to do.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> longer chapter.

Rick noticed that Jenna was standing close to Daryl, occasionally casting him a soft look. She was in clean clothes generously donated by Hershel. The older man was among the group at the kitchen table. It was a tight fit, but almost every adult was in it. Carl, Sophia, Duane, the Morales children, and Beth were not present. All the parents agreed it was for the best.

“So, little Lady. Now, what do we do?” Merle questioned. Many adult heads bobbed in agreement. Hershel had a pad of paper and a pencil ready to take notes. Otis and Patricia and Jimmy were all outside doing various chores. Jenna cleared her throat, her long, dark hair was pulled into a sloppy bun.

“This farm, although peaceful now…it’s not safe. There is a prison not far from here that would be perfect for us. They are some surviving inmates there. Only two are a problem. That’s an easy fix. One is a bit of a pervert, but he’s harmless. If we had a trailer, we could load up a few horses and a lot of the chickens to take there. Hershel, can we uproot a fruit tree if we had somewhere to place it?”

“We can. There are a few young trees that should be easy to transfer than the older trees. I’ll trim some branches for budding.” he replied.

“that’s good. Now for the cattle. Unless we can find a way to chill milk, we are going to be making a lot of cheese. So, for us to have a milk supply, we need at least two cows and a bull. We can use a few heads of cattle for meat now if we start smoking and curing a lot of it. Keep the hides though. I have a plan for those. Now, if we cannot load up the beeves and horses, we will have to do this the old fashioned way.” Shane and Rick shared a look.

“I’m guessing the old way is a cattle drive. Also, what are beeves?” Jenna gave the older man a crazy grin they began to associate with her and some smart ass idea she has.

“Yep. Giddy up. Also, Beeves is the plural form of beef. Mostly used in the biblical talk. I Can ride Oakley and be one guard. Jimmy and one more should be enough. We don’t need all the beeves. It would be best to let a good deal of them run free and rampant. It’ll draw walkers away from us. Now, when we get there, we are going to have to clear out a good deal of walkers. But if we can build a burn pile, we can use their ashes for fertilizer. There is a nearby creek for freshwater, but I think digging a trough under the fences and having a portion inside the gates would be beneficial. But the more important thing is medicine. After a while, there will be a fatal illness. The sickness doesn’t kill you, but the symptoms do. It will make you drown in your own blood. I know a few medicinal plants that can help, but antibiotics are a need for the future. If we start stockpiling now, it’ll help.” Jenna paused as the group began taking notes. Morgan and Hershel began to make a list of medications that can be supplemented with plants. Turns out there was a decent list.

“What else?” Maggie piped up. She was still a bit pissed off at Jenna, but she was listening to her father. Jenna grinned at Maggie.

“Right now, I need for people to gather vegetable seeds. Heirlooms will be better. Corn and potatoes, too. Oh, that reminds me. Hey Merle?” Jenna turned her focus on the older redneck.

“Yeah, little lady?” he asked.

“Do you know how to make moonshine?” she asked, her voice full of innocence…but not her smile or eyes. Merle cleared his throat. Several of the women giggled at his blush.

“I uh…might know a few recipes.” the stammering response from Merle made Daryl crack a smile. Only Jenna seemed to notice.

“That’s great. The only reason I’m am asking is that moonshine can be up 190 proof, that’s pure ethanol.” Merle made an astonishing noise. Most of the group turn to give him a weird look. Daryl was nodding, he knew.

“I’m lost. What do you mean by that?” Amy asked. Jenna gave her now-signature crazy grin.

“Clean and easy fuel. Ethanol is the main ingredient in gasoline. With it pure, the car runs cleaner and faster. So, unless you can find an oil well, we are going to need to learn how to make shine.” The two Dixons were nodding to back her up.

Jenna winced as she tried not to move her shoulder.

“You alright?” Rick asked. Jenna let out a grunt, but she nodded her head.

“Just a bit sore. I’ll be fine. Now, since we are ahead of the schedule, we have time to prepare. Hershel, can we spare two steers for slaughter? Merle and Daryl here know how to make jerky and smoked meat. I can make pemmican with some peaches and apples instead of chokecherries. Maggie, can you ask Patricia to start canning some vegetables and fruit? By doing that we will have a decent food supply to start with when winter hits us in a month or two. Georgia winters have nothing on Montana, but I don’t know the lay of the land for hunting here. At least we won’t have to worry about three feet of snow.” Many of the adults grimaced at the remark.

“Two heads of cattle, would that be enough for this group?” Hershel asked.

“Not really, but it’s a start. Merle, I want you and Shane to start teaching the kids on handling weapons. Not firearms just yet. I have a plan for that later. Daryl, you are the best hunter here. I need you to start bringing in squirrels, rabbits, and birds for curing.” before she can continue, Lori cut in.

“I don’t want my son knowing how to handle a weapon.” she snapped. Jenna rolled her eyes at the older woman.

“Listen here. Carl is going to learn whether you like it or not. He will die without the knowledge. The world you know is gone. Finite. It’ll be best for him to know how to handle a gun and knife. You don’t want to learn, fine then. But he will learn.” Jenna snapped. Lori cringed under the harshness of the girl. Jenna turned to Sophia and Morales.

“Any complaints about your kids? They are going to learn too,” she stated. Morale sighed.

“I want my kids to live long lives. If learning how to use weapons will make sure that happens, I’m in.” His wife held his arm.

“I agree with my husband. They are kids, but they need to be strong.” Jenna glanced at Carol next.

“Sophia needs to be strong now,” she stated. Carol closed her eyes and nodded as well.

“I want to see Sophia grow up, have kids and family. I want her to grow up, like you. Strong.” Carol then worried her hands, but she didn’t say any more on the subject. Jenn then turned back the group

“I’ll help handle the kids. But we need to focus! Rick, Glenn. I need you two to go into town to find bb guns. The more realistic the better. Those are going to be our training tools for the kids. While you are there, find me a bow. I hate guns, but I am terrific with a bow. Carol, Lori, you two will be learning with the kids on how to shoot. Andrea too. She has a gun but doesn’t know how to use the damn thing. Amy. You and Mrs. Morales Are to gather blankets, cushions, and pillows for use. Grab tarps too. Placed them all in the RV and Daryl’s truck. Rope too. T-Dog. You and I are going to find a few walkers.” The group made mutters at the comment. T-Dog cleared his throat.

“Why do we need walkers?” he asked. Jenna gave another crazy grin.

“Camouflage. If we are going to do a cattle drive, we need those walkers. More importantly, we need their skin.” that got some odd looks. She let out a huff.

“Ugh. The skin carries the odor and oils that make up the walker stench. If I make some ponchos with some of the skin and ride Oakley, I’ll be masked. It’s kind of a hunter trick my uncle and grandfather taught me and my brothers. But we used Deer hide and musk. The principle is the same.” she explained.

“Huh. That may actually work.” Merle proclaimed. Daryl agreed. Jacqui then piped up.

“What about me?” she asked. Jenna grinned once more.

“Jacqui, I want you to go into town with Glenn and Rick. Find a bookstore and gather books about medicinal plants, edible plants, setting traps. Those will come in handy. Now that everyone has a job, let’s vamoose!” Jenna twirled her fingers in a loop at the adults. Everyone parted to do their jobs.

But before anyone could leave, Carl came running down the stairs, in a panic.

“Something’s wrong with Beth.” Jenna had an inkling on what was wrong with the girl. But she followed Hershel up the stairs.

~~~…

Beth was laying down in the bed, her eyes wide and her skin clammy.

“She’s in shock,” Hershel explained, patting his daughter’s slim hand. Jenna growled low in her throat.

“She’s being a brat is what she is,” she muttered. Hershel gave the darker-toned girl a peculiar look. He sighed.

“Beth needed her mother. She had faith.” the old vet replied. Huffing, Jenna turned to see Maggie and the other youths standing by the door. She had an idea.

“Everyone out. I need to be alone with Beth.”

Once alone, Jenna locked the door. She sat next to the bed in a chair.

“You are weak. And stupid. Do you think you are the only one suffering? Your daddy lost his son and wife. Your sister lost her mother and brother, too. But here you are, lying in bed like a pathetic spoiled brat. Because that’s all you are proving to me. You are nothing but a brat, looking for attention.”

“Shut up.” Jenna grinned.

“Oh, so she speaks. Well then Beth, tell me. Why are you acting like there is no hope in the world?” Jenna jabbed. Beth sat up, fighting back angry tears.

“Just shut up. You don’t know how I’m feeling.” Jenna scoffed.

“I know exactly how you feel. I lost my whole family. My mother, my little brothers, my sisters. Those who lived wanted nothing to do with me. Many of my aunts and surviving cousins told me I should have died with my mother.” Beth then scoffed.

“You lost your family. I never got to say goodbye to my mother or my brother. How can know how I feel?” Beth then laid back down and turned on her side.

“Look at you. Pouting and whining like a spoiled baby. Because that’s what you are. Spoiled. I never got to say goodbye to my family! I wasn’t even allowed to attend my baby brother’s funerals. You have your father and sister and a boyfriend. You have family friends and a warm bed. You stayed here, on this farm. Sheltered from the living hell everyone else has lived. Guess what Beth? It’s time to grow up. No one is going to hold your hand anymore. When you are done crying for yourself, you can join us. But remember this Beth Greene: you aren’t the only one suffering.” Standing, Jenna went and unlocked the door. She shot Beth one more look and left. Closing the door behind her, Jenna heard Beth begin to cry. Good.

Standing by the door, Maggie Greene was scowling at the younger girl.

“You didn’t have to be so harsh to her. She just lost her mother.” Jenna stared up into Maggie’s eyes, her own forest colored eyes bland.

“All I told her is that she is not the only one hurting. She should be lucky she still has family left. Not all of us do. Dale, Jacqui, T-Dog, Glenn. Me. We have no one. Daryl has Merle. Shane has the Grimes family. Andrea and Amy have each other. The Morales family has each other. And Beth has you, Hershel, Jimmy, Otis, and Patricia. That’s already more than the rest of us. She should feel grateful.” Jenna stepped away from Maggie and started to head downstairs. Maggie watched as she somewhat bounced down the stairs. But she knew the younger girl was right.

~~~…

Maggie entered Beth’s room. The young blonde was sitting up in the bed, sniffling and rubbing her face.

“I hate to agree with that girl, but she’s right. I lost Annette and Shawn too, you know.” Maggie whispered. Beth let out a soft hiccup.

“I know now. But still…I want mom.” she cried. Maggie moved to hug her sister.

“I want her too.” Beth clung to Maggie as she cried. Both sisters remained on the bed, finally letting out their prolonged grief.

~~~…

“Alright, you little ankle biters! Roundup!” Merle’s rough voice rang over the small gathering of prepubescent children. Jenna stood behind him, a bag of bb guns in her one good hand. The trip into town only took two hours, and Glenn, Rick, and Jacqui came back with the desired supplies. Rick went to grab Shane as Glenn and Jacqui were then sent to salt boiling eggs for a long trip. The brash redneck and crazy girl were waiting for the two ex-cops. They only waited for a few minutes. Beth and Jimmy were behind them as well.

“Wow, bigger group than what I was thinking of.” Jenna quipped. Merle cackled.

“What do you suggest we do then?” he asked, full of mirth.

“I can teach Sophia and the Morales girl… I really should learn her name. You teach Cipriano and Jimmy. Rick can handle Carl and Duane. Shane can teach Beth and Andrea. After that, we rotate so everyone has a different chance of a technique. Sound like a plan?” Merle nodded and decided to ruffle the short girl’s hair, making her squeak and grumble.

Shane and Rick were given the plan, and both agreed. Merle lead the two boys he had over to one end of a fence as Jenna and her batch of kids went to the other end. Shane was to the left of Merle as Rick was to the right of Jenna. He didn’t know how, but Merle knew Jenna sweet-talked her way on grabbing several melons and an underripe pumpkin for targets. She also had a fat black marker and casually drew snarling faces on the targets.

“Ain’t that a bit morbid?” Rick asked. Jenna just shrugged.

“Maybe. But it’ll help for practice,” she explained. Handing out the bb guns, Jenna waited for Rick, Shane, and Merle to teach their kids. Sophia picked out a pink trimmed gun as the Morales girl picked out a white and blue one.

“These are still weapons. So, don’t even think about pointing them at anyone else. You pull the trigger, you have to mean every shot. This is how my uncle taught me to shoot. Keep your trigger finger just above the trigger, laying flat on the side. Keep your stance at shoulder width, chest out. But before we do all that. Make a hoop with your fingers.” The two girls did as she said.

“Raise the hoop towards the sun. and slowly pull it back to your nose.” The girls complied.

“Each of your hoops should be hovering over one eye.”

“Mine’s over my right eye.” Sophia chirped.

“Mine too.” Mini Morales chirped too. Jenna grinned.

“Good. That is your aiming eye. Now pick up your guns, but do not put your finger on the trigger. Hold the gun up at arm’s length, at level with your eyes. You should see a raised line and a small indent. Make sure both are line up in a precise line.” The girls took a few minutes to level their weapons, both smiling as they accomplished the feat.

“Good. Now, flick off the safety. That’s the little switch by the trigger. Inhale deep. As you exhale, shoot. Be prepared for a bit of a jolt.” Both girls took in their breath and shot. Sophia made a soft yelp as the bb gun let out a loud puff of air.

“Cock your guns and do it again.” Sophia didn’t make a noise this time.

“Again.”

“Again.”

“Again.”

After six rounds, the teachers switched off. Jenna now had Carl and Duane, Rick had Beth and Andrea, Merle had Sophia and Morales girl, and Shane had Cipriano and Jimmy.

Andrea had a huffy attitude towards Jenna. Beth was a bit somber, but she was paying attention. Instead of small bb pistols, they each had a rifle.

“Look, Andrea. I may be a heap younger than you, but I grew up knowing how to handle a gun. My uncle taught me, and I taught my brothers and sisters. I’m the best shot of my family. So can the bitchy attitude!” Jenna snapped as Andrea ignored her instructions once more. The butchy blonde flipped Jenna off.

“You know what, Andrea? You are so full of yourself. I thought saving your damn sister would make you pull your head out of your ass, but I guess not. You are more pig-headed than Merle! And that’s saying something. You act like you are all high and mighty because you went to college. News flash! I went to college too! And I still went hunting regularly with my family, I still found time to provide safety and food for my family, and I never thought of myself as the hot shit as you do! If you worried more about your sister instead of trying to get into Shane’s pants, maybe you wouldn’t need training.” Jenna sneered. She was through with the older woman. Andrea was quick though, and instead of an open hand smack, she punched Jenna in her injured shoulder. Jenna let out a pain-filled shout and fell to her knees. Beth yelped.

“What are you doing?!” Rick shoved Andrea away from the fallen girl as he then kneeled next to the younger girl. Merle and Shane came running over.

“What happened?!” Shane asked. He glanced towards Andrea, who was giving the nastiest of glares towards Jenna.

“That little brat should watch her mouth!” she growled. Sophia and the Morales girl then scurried over to Jenna, worried about their adoptive big sister. Carl, Duane, and Cipriano also scurried over. Jimmy and Beth stood still, unsure of what to do.

“Oh, fuck you Andrea! I’ve been helping your sorry asses from the minute I woke up alone in the hospital! And I’ve been smacked, punched, yelled at, and shot by almost everyone I’ve been trying to help! If it ain’t Lori bitching at me, it's you. If it ain’t you or Lori, It’s Maggie. If it ain’t a damn woman, It’s Shane and Morgan! So, fuck you all.” Jenna felt the burning of angry tears in her eyes. She was shaking with how angry she was.

“Fuck, Little Lady. Your shoulder.” Merle gasped out. Jenna looked down to her injured shoulder, hissing as she now felt the blood sticking to her skin and now officially ruined bra.

“Great. Get bent, Andrea. Shane, Rick. You deal with her. Beth is already pretty handy with a rifle, so she can be taught the rest of the lesson by Shane or Merle. I’m heading back to the house. Hopefully, Morgan can patch up my wound.” She turned, casting one more livid glare at Andrea, and stalked away.

~~~…

Shane jerked Andrea up by her arm, making her cry out with pain. No one reacted to his harsh treatment.

“Why the hell were you disobeying her?!” he snarled out.

“She is a little brat! She’s the one who needs to be taught! I’m fine with my gun!” she tried to defend herself. Shane dropped her arm.

“Oh, Really? Hit that melon. Right now.” feeling pretty confidant in her skills, Andrea lifted the bb rifle and shot. She missed. She tried again. Missed again.

“Sophia, you hit the melon.” The youngest blonde nodded. She did what Jenna instructed, and squared her shoulders, feet standing shoulder-width apart. She took a breath and fired as she exhaled. She hit the melon. She redid her steps and repeated them. Sophia lowered her gun and turned to glance at Shane.

“She obviously knew what she was doing. Sophia was able to hit her target twice. You didn’t even hit it once. You’re done for the day. In fact, you are done period until you apologize to Jenna.” ripping the bb rifle out of Andrea’s hands, Shane then turned his back on the blonde. Ashamed, Andrea slunk back to the camp. Ignoring the woman, Shane turned back to the other trainees.

“I think we can call it a day. We’ll pick up tomorrow. Go find your parents. Carl, go help your mother.” Shane addressed the group. All the kids then took off, Sophia first placing the safety one her gun before she went hunting for her mama. Rick, Shane, and Merle were left standing by the fence.

“That was a shit show of a day.” Merle rasped out.

“I don’t understand why every woman is hostile towards her. All she has done was try to help.” Shane questioned.

“I have no idea. I know why Lori is still envious about her. Carol and Miranda love her, especially since she saved their kids. Amy finds her adorable. Beth is starting to respect her. I’m not so sure about Maggie.” Rick replied.

“I think Daryl is starting to like her. Physically, she is what? 16 tops? That’s the age of consent right there. But mentally, she is only a handful of years younger than Daryl. She told me that every woman she knew likes the way my baby brother is. If she was a bit older, I might start liking her too.” Merle explained. Shane and Rick gave the brutish redneck a weird look. Merle caught them staring at him.

“Hey, I ain’t wrong.” the three older men then chuckled together.

“Okay, fair point. But this is the last time someone strikes that girl. Anyone else hits her, they will be punished. I don’t care who it is.” Rick proclaimed. The other two men agreed.


	14. Chapter 14

Sophia was watching Morgan gently wrap Jenna’s shoulder in clean bandages. The girl was using her other hand to wipe away tears. Hershel was standing nearby, a cup of something warm in his hands. The older girl was sitting on a wooden stool, her shirt off and her ruined bra outside being burned. She held a clean, gray towel over her chest, shielding her breasts.

“Miss Jenna? You ain’t gonna leave us. Are you?” the younger girl asked. Jenna shook her head. At least she wasn’t crying anymore. Morgan finished tending to her shoulder and made a sling out of some strips of cloth. Beth stood in the doorway, some clean clothes for her to wear.

“I ain’t going anywhere. I will keep my word on getting us to safety. Besides, it’s not like I have anywhere else to go anyway.” keeping the towel covering her chest, Jenna stood. Sophia watched as Jenna turned to talk to the two men. Hershel was helping her sip whatever he had in the cup since she only has one good arm. Morgan was then cleaning up the table where Jenna’s ruined stitches were placed on a now bloody napkin. Beth was staring at Jenna’s well-endowed chest, noticing the scattering of pinprick scars across the ample flesh.

“See something you like?” Jenna joked. Beth tore her gaze away, blushing.

“How…How did you get those scars on your chest?” she asked.

“Beth, she doesn’t have to answer that,” Hershel exclaimed to his daughter.

“It’s fine Hershel. Beth, these scars are self-inflicted. I picked at my skin until I bled, the action helped me relieve stress. It also made one of my mom’s boyfriends leave me alone. He thought it made me ugly, so I kept doing it. The fat, ugly scars in my arms are for the same reason. The more scars I got, the more he was disgusted by me.” Beth let out a gasp of shock. Morgan and Hershel did as well. Sophia looked at the scars on Jenna’s arms, the large ones that looked like someone scraped the flesh off with a dull knife.

“Didn’t your mother do anything?” Hershel asked. Jenna scoffed an angry sound that twisted her pretty face.

“She got angry…at me. She blamed me for ‘seducing’ her boyfriends.” Jenna then relaxed and took a shuddering breath.

“But I persevered. I’m still standing, they ain’t. I take comfort in that, at least.” Jenna then headed upstairs to the bathroom to change into clean clothes. She wasn’t followed.

~~~... 

Otis, Merle, and Daryl were generously coating slabs of meat with salt before sliding them into a jury-rigged smokehouse. Merle had a few slabs cured and set aside to turn into jerky. Carl, Duane, and Cipriano were given the job of loading up a trailer with crates of fruit and nuts. Sophia and Eliza were showing their mothers what Jenna taught them about guns, offering to teach their mothers now.

“The meat will take 70 hours to cure. While the slabs are curing, I’m going to go help Patricia to gather eggs to pickle and salt boil…I got to ask, do you honestly trust what that girl preaches?” Otis asked. Both Dixon brothers paused.

“I do. She treats me like I’m someone worth knowing. Like I ain’t dirt to be washed away.” Merle was casting a soft smile. It surprised Daryl a bit. Otis paused in his meat curing.

“She sounds like a good Christian woman.” Daryl barked out a soft laugh.

“Don’t let her hear you say that. She’s more of a witch.” he joked. Merle shared in on the laughter.

“Witch? Nah, She’s E.T.” Merle joked back. The two Dixon men chuckled as they tossed casual jabs about Jenna. Otis gave both of them a weird look.

“Nice to see that no one has died yet.” All three men turned in surprise as Jenna stood behind them, grinning like a trickster. Her arm was tucked by her stomach under the shirt in a makeshift swing. Merle took note that she was not wearing a bra.

“You’re pretty light-footed for a thick boned girl.” Merle quipped. Daryl smacked Merle across his bald head.

“Merle!” he growled out.

“It’s fine Daryl. I’m not sensitive. I’m not the one who almost got left behind on a roof like a trapped raccoon.” Jenna replied, her voice light, but her tone drier than whiskey. Merle flinched at the memory. Now Daryl laughed. Otis was still confused.

“No offense, but I don’t trust you.” Otis proclaimed to a bemused Jenna. The odd girl didn’t seem phased.

“I know. I know that Maggie doesn’t like me either, because I am crude in comparison to her angelic sister. I don’t need you to trust me. But I need you to trust Hershel. He may see me as a prophet, but I’m just a girl who knows more than she should. Mind if I borrow Daryl for a minute?” Otis was thrown off by the girl’s chaotic way of speech, how it jumps from one subject to the next.

“Uh…Sure. We’re done here anyway.” Otis watched as the weird girl then bounced away towards the barn. She was literally bouncing. How the hell was she doing that?

~~~…

Daryl was confused. Although the girl was younger than…a lot younger, she walked with the air of a proficient predator. She reminded him of a coral snake: small, pretty, misleading. And very deadly. Why the hell does that intrigue him? He watched as the girl slipped into the barn. He followed. Jenna was now sitting under the hayloft, ignoring the stickiness of dead blood and dirt under the borrowed jeans she wore.

“Daryl. What do you think of me?” she said suddenly. Daryl shrugged and bit at a hangnail on his thumb. He took a seat next to her.

“Dunno. A bit weird. Slightly insane…scared. Scary.” he joked at the end. Jenna smiled.

“Me? Scary? I’ve been called adorable, cute even. But never scary.” she quipped. Daryl let out a huff of a sound.

“You are scary. You have Merle, my asshole of a brother, wrapped around your finger. No girl was able to do that.” he explained. Jenna then leaned on Daryl’s plaid dressed arm.

“Where I am from, many women love you. I’d be a moron to ignore the man you are,” she replied. Daryl was confused. Not at her jumpy way of speaking, he was getting used to that, but at the meaning of her words.

“What kind of man am I?” he asked.

“Despite being such a hard ass, or badass, you are a man who is kind. You are gentle when you need to be. You never raise a hand towards a child or women, since you saw enough of that from Will.” Daryl flinched as the name of his cursed father passed her lips.

“But you are strong. Stronger than your father, stronger than your brother. I’ll admit, a lot of women where I’m from fell in love with your rugged beauty. I kinda did too. But you are an amazing man. Despite the pain you went through, you rose above it, and became a better man than anyone ever expected. When you cry, many cry in sympathy. You at like you don’t feel anything, but you are so sympathetic. You feel a lot more than people give credit for.” Daryl was speechless. He glanced at the younger girl, amazed by her knowledge.

“Merle said you know how he died. Do you know how I die?” he asked. Jenna gave him a soft chuckle.

“That’s the thing: I don’t. After this group, you are the last one standing. Carol is alive, but she is broken, she is hurt. She is dead in her heart. But you, you become a leader, a Wiseman for several nosey kids. You are the ultimate defender.” She stated.

“You make it sound like I’m some sort of superhero.” Daryl was blushing at her words.

“You kinda are,” she replied. The two of them remained silent for a while.

“Why did you want to talk to me alone?” he asked after a few minutes. Jenna shrugged.

“I figured you would be the last one to judge me for my weirdness. Also, it seemed like you needed a break from your brother. He can be a bit much.” Daryl smiled.

“You had brothers like him?” he asked.

“Not really. But he does remind me of several cousins and uncles. Despite all his faults, he is a good guy. A prick, an asshole on the best of days, but he has some goodness in him. Maybe now that he is sober it’ll shine more.” she replied.

“…You’re a good person too. Not a lot of people are telling you that. Rick is, Sophia adores you, Merle thinks you are a godsend. But even you need to hear some praise.” he stated. Jenna smiled again.

“Thank you.” After a few more minutes, she stood, but not before pecking a gentle kiss on the corner of Daryl’s lips. Daryl felt his mind fizzle out of sync at the action.

“I’m going to go and give Carol and Lori a shooting lesson now. See if you can find some wild nuts. Those will come in handy.” She then twirled on bare feet and swayed out of the barn. Daryl touched the place she kissed. He smiled. He never knew such an intimate action can be so sweet.


	15. Chapter 15

“Jenna?” said girl was happily munching on a pear as Lori approached her. She was also leaning on Daryl’s dusty truck.

“What?” she stated, still a bit bitter about being smacked around by the older woman. Lori bit into her lip, nervous.

“When you said you are from a different world, you said you know a lot about us…Can I ask you for my future?” Jenna let out a sigh, giving the rest of her pear to Oakley. She wiped the sticky nectar of the fruit from her lips with her one good arm.

“You sure you want to know?” Jenna asked back. Lori nodded.

“I know I haven’t been the kindest to you. I never even thanked you for saving Rick, but I have to know where we stand in the future.” Lori watched as Jenna bit the inside of her cheek in thought. The younger girl let out a sigh.

“Fine then. What do you want to know?” Lori noted she sounded tired, fed up even.

“Rick and I…will our marriage repair itself?” she asked.

“Talk about a loaded question. Well now, the sad fact is no. Your marriage bit the dust the morning you fought when he got shot. He loves you, you are his high school sweetheart, but the love is not romantic or sexual anymore. You put the final nail in the coffin when you hit the sack with Shane, not even a week after he was shot.” Lori flinched at the cold tone of the younger girl. Oakley nudged her little master for more treats.

“He wasn’t even dead, and you were ready to move on. Despite how much you said you would support and love Rick, you never did. But you, I repeat, you, pushed him away. He is a quiet man, takes on the world for those he loves, but you never really saw that. You want to know what finally made him crack?” Jenna shot. Lori flinched again, but she nodded.

“I have to know. I have to.” the older brunette whispered. Jenna let out another sigh and took a sip of some sun-warmed peach tea Beth brought her a while ago.

“He was forced to kill Shane. Shane went insane because of he was envious of Rick but loved you. It broke something in Rick’s heart that he had to put down his brother in all but blood. But you drove the knife deeper by blaming him for defending himself.” Jenna took another sip of her tea.

“It didn’t help none that the baby in your belly wasn’t Rick’s.” Lori felt her face turn to the color of ash.

“Baby…I’m pregnant?” she choked out. Jenna finished her tea.

“Yep. A baby girl,” she stated. Lori felt her body fall to her knees in the tall grass. Jenna knelt down at the older woman.

“And despite all the pain you caused him in your last days, he raised that child like it was his own anyway.” Lori looked into Jenna’s forest colored eyes.

“What happened to me? Why wasn’t I around?” she gasped.

“You died. Giving birth to that baby girl. It damn near broke Carl too when he was the one to put you down.” Jenna stood back up, casting Lori a sympathetic look.

“I will tell you this though… After you died, Rick mourned. He loved you. Took him over a year to open his heart to another woman.” clicking her tongue, Jenna had Oakley follow her to the house.

“Lori.” The older woman stole a glance at the younger girl.

“I may not like you,” Lori flinched…again, “But I ain’t going to let you die. Besides, you got a trump card now.”

“Who?” Lori asked. Jenna grinned, her expression lacking the maniacal shine.

“Me.”

~~~…

Since she was still injured, Jenna was directing T-Dog and Merle on skinning a couple of walkers. T-Dog was gagging as Merle slit open the rotted bellies, spilling greying guts and pus-filled veins. Merle felt his face twist in disgust. Both men looked at Jenna, who didn’t seem fazed at the stench.

“How the hell can you stand this stink?” Merle asked. Jenna shrugged.

“It’s not as bad as I thought. I lived next to a compost heap and a cesspool. This is nothing. Besides, I’m kinda cheating.” Jenna grinned. Both the beefy men looked at Jenna in confusion.

“How are you cheating?” T-Dog asked. Jenna grinned again and pulled out of her pocket a sticky jar of greasy Vapo-Rub.

“I dabbed a bit under my nose. The sharp strong smell of menthol covers up the stink of rot.” Merle gave the younger girl a weird look.

“How the hell did you know that?” he asked.

“I read. Like a lot.” T-Dog and Merle shared a look.

“Can we borrow that?” T-Dog asked, pointing to the bottle of Vapo-Rub.

“Sure. Be careful though. Too much will burn the fuck out of your nostrils.” Jenna tossed the bottle to the two men. Both scrambled to grab the bottle, playfully wrestling for the greasy jar. Merle won and dabbled a bit of the substance under his nose. He handed the jar to T-Dog, who did the same. Both took in a deep breath.

“Whoo! Man, that works! You got to give me the damn books you’ve been reading.” Merle chortled. T-Dog nodded.

“Hell, I want those books too! What else do you know?” he asked.

“I know that you two should harvest some sinew from those walkers.” Both nodded and did as they were told. Merle being to one to know what sinew was, carefully pulled out long strands, stretching them to be dried.

“T-Dog, grab some of the intestines, and clean them. It’s not too much different than butchering a hog.” T-Dog nodded and did what Jenna commanded.

“Now then, start peeling off strips of skin…and Merle, scalp the walkers. I’m going to go see Hershel and Morgan. My bandages need to be changed.” The two men waved Jenna off and went to work on their butchering.

“She is full of surprises. I wonder what else she knows?” T-Dog wondered as they began stripping the skin off their walkers. Merle was silent, which was surprising for the black man.

“Merle? What’s wrong? Normally by now, you have a smart ass quip to say.” Merle remained silent. Now T-Dog was confused.

“Dixon? Is everything alright?” the bulky black man ceased his butchering and turned on his crouched heels to face the older, meaner man. Merle finished gathering sinew from the walker and went to work on emptying its rotted intestine. He let out a yelp as a lamprey, which was surprisingly still alive, wriggled out of the rotted guts, and flailed in the grass.

“What the fuck is that?” T-Dog asked, his face twisting with disgust. The lamprey writhed some more, but before they could do anything, a goddamn chicken swooped in a ran off with the fish.

“…Was that one of Jenna’s chickens?” T-Dog asked.

“I’m sure that was Lucky. Damn bird has the luck of nine devils.” Merle replied. T-Dog forgot what he was going ask, so he went back on skinning the walker.

~~~…

Sophia and Eliza let out shrieks as Lucky LS ran by the two girls with the lamprey in her beak. Their screams brought both their mothers and a panicking Rick over to them, weapons drawn. Carl, Duane Cipriano were laughing as they watched the chicken fling and beat the fish until it was dead.

“What happened? And why does the chicken have a fish?” Shane asked as he followed Rick. Jenna also came running out of the house, shirtless but at least her breasts were covered. The odd girl was holding a fire poker, ready to beat in some walker heads. Morgan was right behind her, his gun ready to shoot. Daryl had his bow up and ready to fire as he was scouting the tree line. Dale and Morales Sr. stood on top of the camper confused at the conundrum. Andrea and Her sister were resting inside the RV, popping their heads out at the shrieks. The only ones not reacting were Lori, T-Dog, and Merle, the two latter still several yards away with the mutilated walkers. Noticing no living walkers, everyone relaxed.

Daryl noticed Jenna’s nudity, blushed and without hesitating, removed his own shirt to give the girl. He ignored the gasps of horror at his back, more focused on making sure Jenna was decent.

“What happened?” Shane asked again, turning to the cackling boys. Carl winced as he noticed almost everyone who was grown staring at them.

“Oh. Well, the girls kinda freaked out when the chicken ran by them with a fish in her mouth. Duane, Cipriano, and I were laughing because of that.” he explained. Several of the adults let out soft chuckles at the announcement too. Jenna, Rick, Morgan, and Shane let out a relief of a sigh.

“I’m really starting to hate that chicken.” Morgan snipped. Rick nodded in agreement.

Later that night, everyone has cleaned up and were now full of a roasted chicken (not Lucky LS…yet) dinner, Jenna had the kids on their backs on blankets, gazing at the whimsical scene of stars.

“I have a story if you want to hear. It’s about how the stars came to be. Actually, I have a few stories. Which one would you like to hear? the one with A Coyote, or the one with A Hummingbird?” Jenna asked, her voice soft for the night.

“There’s a story with a hummingbird?” Eliza asked. Jenna smiled at the curious little girl. Sophia and Carl piped that they wanted to hear it too. Cipriano and Duane agreed as well.

“Okay then. A long, long time ago… except for humans, all the animals in the world only ate plants. And the sun was always out. The gods adored their animal children and welcomed their spirits into heaven when humans caught them for food and clothing. One day, they decided to watch a bear. To their shock, the bear swept up a salmon and ate him. The gods were outraged and came down from heaven to confront the bear.

‘Why? Why did you eat your brother?!’ they demanded. The bear said he tasted so much better than berries and fruit. Livid, the gods were going to send the bear to the bad place, where all wicked spirits reside. Before they could send him to the bad place, a wolf spoke up and admitted she ate a deer. The gods were shocked as more animals admitted to eating their friends and brothers. The gods then went back to heaven, but before they left. They took the sun, casting the land in cold blackness.” the children let out a gasp.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Eliza scowled. Jenna chuckled.

“No, it wasn’t. Shall I continue?” she asked. The children murmured their yes.

“Okay. Now, since the sun was gone. It got very cold. The humans were huddled around large fires, some wolves joining them. A lot of the animals cried that it was not fair. Not all of them ate their friends. Finally, after many weeks of cold darkness, many of the birds decided to try to reach heaven and bring back the sun.

The first bird was a crow. He flew as hard as he could, but only was able to poke a hole in the darkness. Then a hawk tried and was able to poke more holes. The most powerful of the bird, the eagle tried, and he was able to poke even more holes. All the birds tried, and they all were able only to poke holes. The last one to try was an eager little hummingbird. All the other laughed at him, saying he was too weak and tiny. But the hummingbird tried. Every day he flew and poke holes in the darkness, and the hole got bigger and brighter. Finally, he poked a hole big enough for him to enter heaven but he was tired. He fell asleep on the heaven floor, and died.” the girls let out gasps, as did the boys.

“The hummingbird died?” Duane asked. Jenna nodded.

“He died. But the story isn’t over yet.” the kids all shushed each other.

“The gods saw how the little hummingbird gave his life, and so...they pulled away the darkness, revealing the sun once again.

‘This hummingbird gave his life to give you light. We will accept those who eat their friends, but there will now be a sign. The day will be cut in half, the other half being dark. But we will let there be light in the darkness: the holes. The large whole is now the little bird who gave his life. He will shift each day and cast you into darkness, as a reminder of his sacrifice.’ The animals rejoiced, and the humans, who now bonded with the wolves, gave the darkness a name: night.” Jenna finished.

“We got stars because of a brave little bird?” Sophia asked, in awe at the story.

“DO you know a lot of stories like that one?” Carl asked.

“I know a few. But I think it’s time for bed. We got a bit more to do tomorrow before we leave in a few days. Go find your mamas.” The kids groaned and stood, gathering the blankets they were laying on. Within a few minutes, the little ankle-biters were back in the house. Jenna remained sitting in the grass, just gazing at the expanse of stars.

“That was a cute little story you told them.” Daryl slipped into her line of sight, slow and cautious. If she was a coral snake, he was a puma.

“I was always amazed by the night sky, so I looked up as many stories as I can about it. I figured they would enjoy it.” Daryl sat down next to Jenna, silent.

“Can you tell me a bit? About your world?” the older man asked, voice soft with his questions. Jenna smiled.

“I can. The first thing I should tell you is that I’m not 15, I’m 25…”


	16. Chapter 16

Daryl had a lot to think about. After last night, he got to know Jenna a bit more, and its safe to say he liked her, more than he should for a friend. That’s what scared him.

Jenna was 25, mentally, but she still had the physical age of a 16-year-old girl. She was cherubic compared to his white trash ass. But she was refreshing, like ice water on a hot day with her oddness by her conflicting ages.

The damn girl was also an avid reader, which was proven when he found her reading of all things, a packet of advertisements. He ended up raiding a library for collections of fairytales and mythology for her.

Jenna was also the middle child of her family, five older brothers, two older sisters, seven younger brothers, and three little sisters. Most of her family were adopted by aunts and uncles, so a good chunk of her siblings were actually cousins. Made him glad all he had was damn Merle.

But Jenna also liked to sing. She didn’t believe she was very good at it, not like Beth. Daryl asked for a song, anything. The request confused her, but she ended up singing something he hasn’t heard since his own mama perished: daddy’s hands. He swore he could feel her heartbreaking as she sang. Guess it was a tough song for her too. But her voice, it was smokey, light and smooth, which was an interesting combination.

Daryl did find out she found Merle’s crassness endearing, said it made her remember some of her uncles. Because of that, she helped him sober up. It was funny to see his brother being cowed by a short, young girl.

But he also found that with all her smiling, she was crying in private. He caught her crying in the barn after another fight with Andrea. He would have comforted her, but Amy was doing it. She cried whenever the Morales kids called her “hermana,” especially the boy. She also cried whenever she saw Duane and Morgan bond. But she never did in front of other people. She just went on smiling, occasionally snarky and crass to Andrea and Maggie.

Now, he was leaning against his truck, smoking a stale cigarette as he watched the girl shred a pound of meat with one hand, setting it aside to dry and instructing his dick of brother to grind some dried fruits and nuts into a shredded mush in a clay bowl with a rock of all things. Merle found out when she gets really agitated, she kind of makes a squeaky growl at him. The jackass said it reminded him of a disgruntled fox kit.

Finishing his cigarette, he went over to the rack of drying walker intestines and skins. He had a short poncho already stitched together from squirrel and rabbit hides, ready for the dried guts, sinew, and skin to be added to the pelts. The poncho was large on him, so Jenna is going to be swimming in the article. He had found a few packages of rain ponchos to use for the other cattle guards, and several horse tarps for the guard’s mounts to camouflage them too.

As he checked the skins, something nudged his foot. Looking down, he was surprised to see something tugging on his boot laces. He smiled.

“Hello, there. Where the hell did you come from?”

~~~…

Merle made Jenna take a break from shredding meat for pemmican. She then had Miranda and Andrea help him.

Sitting under a shady tree, Jenna took in the warm, dusty air. She could smell the over-ripeness of fallen peaches and apples next to her, the dryness of the soil from the summer sun, the clean crisp of uncut grass, the cud in Oakley’s mouth as she chewed next to her. Today, she was in a tank top…Daryl’s tank top, which she snagged. Her arm didn’t need to be in a sling right now, so she was leaning against the textured bark, shifting her shoulders in a way that scratched right where she wanted. She was frowning though.

“It’s quiet. Never thought I would miss the sound of the highway bustle,” she told Oakley, who couldn’t even care but nickered happily as Jenna scratched under her neck.

“Hey, Jenna.” Daryl’s roughened voice made her glance over to the older man. The brash redneck was holding something that was squirming under his shirt, making him wince and cuss as it scratched his chest and stomach.

“Hey, Daryl. What do you got there?” she asked. Daryl made a gentle twist with his lips, his version of a soft smile. Jenna found it adorable, not like she’s going to tell him though.

“I found something…ow! I figured you would enjoy his company more than mine” He pulled out of his shirt…a puppy. Jenna awed at the baby dog. Daryl placed the little creature on the ground, the little beast turning to attack his boots once more.

“He’s adorable! Where did you find him?” Jenna asked as she scooped up the puppy, holding it to her plush breasts. She was peppering the little animal with light kisses on his fuzzy head. Daryl felt the corners of his lips twitch into a smile. He was glad he got her to show a genuine form of happiness.

“Little shit was attacking my feet when I was making this for you.” Daryl then handed her the homemade poncho which he had wrapped around the puppy, but the little beast wriggled out of it. Turning her attention away from the puppy, Jenna gasped at the poncho. She saw that the older man made a foliage pattern with different colored squirrel and rabbit hides.

“Oh, Daryl. It’s beautiful.” Jenna set the puppy on the ground, the little menace going to terrorize Oakley’s tail. The horse seemed used to the puppy’s antics, so she was calm.

Jenna held the poncho in her hands, reveling in how soft the pelts were. Daryl stitched it so the fur was layering the inside, leaving the treated skin part bare for the walker bits to be sewn in on. She tried it on, marveling how it cloaked her.

“Thank you, Daryl.” She didn’t know what else to say. And somehow, that was enough.

Daryl followed Jenna as she cooed and coddled the puppy all the way back to the camp. The horse was following Daryl, taking steady steps behind the rough man.

The puppy had large, clumsy paws, giving away the fact he was going to be a beast of a dog. Someone crudely cropped his ears, making them a mite infected. He was covered in thick fluff, making seem like a teddy bear. He was also kind of an ugly thing. Looks a bit like a tadpole in a fur coat. But Jenna loved the monstrous, little thing. Daryl thought he looked like a Chupacabra.

Eliza and Sophia squealed happily at the sight of the puppy. The boys seemed to have the same mindset as Daryl: it was just ugly.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be resting.” Merle chided. Jenna grinned and turned to show the older man the puppy.

“What the fuck is that thing?” he growled questioningly. Jenna scowled.

“It’s a dog. A puppy.” Merle glanced at the creature again.

“You sure? Because I think you have Daryl’s Chupacabra in your arms.” Merle quipped. The gathering adults laughed as they observed the youngest girls play with the puppy. Hershel came out to see what the commotion was.

“What do we have here?” he asked. Jenna was beaming as she cuddled the puppy.

“A puppy. Looks like he had his ears cropped, but whoever did it, did a shitty job.” Jenna explained. Hershel began to examine the puppy, chuckling as the thing tried to nip his fingers.

“Besides the slight infection in his ears, the little guy is healthy. I’d say he is about ten weeks old. Looks like he has some pit bull in him but crossed with something big.” The puppy was happily panting, his flag of a tail wriggling as hard as he could make it. Jenna cooed as the puppy looked up to lick her chin.

“He’s just so ugly he is adorable!!!” Jenna happily chirped. The puppy made a crooning growl for attention. Sophia and Eliza cooed at the puppy, the little gargoyle was lapping it up.

“He needs a name now.” Hershel quipped up. The girls all pitched up ideas for the name.

In the end, the puppy was named Murphy.


	17. Chapter 17

How the hell did that little snake coerce him into joining the goddamn drive? Merle sat on a grumpy brute of a gelding, Jenna on Oakley beside him. She somehow found a purse and made a few adjustments to the bag, hanging it off of the saddle horn. Her ugly little puppy, Murphy, was panting happily from the bag. About five yards away, the big man, Otis if he recalled, was on a beast of a horse. Sitting next to him was Jimmy, the skinny boy who seemed to eye Jenna like a pinup. Between the four of them were seven beef steer, three cows with calves, and a gentle-mannered bull. Each rider was wearing a walker treated poncho, Merle taking note that Jenna’s was a hand made one, specifically his brother’s handiwork. With Jenna pointing out where to go on the map, the first group consisting of T-Dog, Shane, Daryl, and Andrea headed towards their designation to start clearing out the walkers she said were inhabiting the gates. The second group of folks were Beth Greene, the Grimes family, the Morales family, Morgan and his son, Jacqui, Amy, Dale, and Patricia, they were all set to follow and set up a temporary camp outside the fences of the prison. The third group was Carol and her daughter, Glenn, Hershel, and Maggie driving the trucks full of livestock and one truck bed holding fruit trees and equipment. The livestock being carried by car were several chickens, a suckling sow, and her shoats, and three more horses. And the last group was being led by Jenna. They were going to be cutting through the forest to reach the camp, making the journey easier for the cattle. Each rider had a sack of pemmican, a gallon jug of water, a set of knives and a rifle. Jenna chose a recurve bow instead of a rifle. They had one ornery mule mare with them to carry bedrolls and any game they catch. They knocked down one of the fences for the remaining livestock to fend for themselves. Jenna’s chickens were under the watchful eye of the Morales children.

Jenna had a walkie talkie raised up to her mouth.

“Okay, We’re all set. Group one, you’re up.” Over the walkie, Shane confirmed and drove away first with most of group one in the cab of his jeep. Daryl opted to take Merle’s bike since his brother was now stuck on horseback. The thrumming of the motorcycle chuffed away behind the jeep. By Jenna’s and Rick’s orders, the group waited until the thrumming of the motorcycle faded into the calls of birds.

“Rick, you’re next,” Jenna ordered into the walkie.

“Roger.” Rick then pulled out in his cruiser, going at a steady pace. Morgan and Jacqui were driving Daryl’s truck, the back full of treated water and a stubborn peach tree. Lori had Beth ride with Amy and Dale in the RV, while everyone else was in their own cars. They pulled away down the road, heading the same direction as group one.

“Carol, your group is next.”

“You got it.” Carol was driving a truck pulling the horse trailer that had the chickens, while Hershel had the pigs and goats, and Glenn and Maggie had the remaining horses in their trailer. After a few seconds, the farm was empty. Jenna turned to Merle.

“Just stick to the plan.” gently tapping the mare with her heels, Jenna was then leading the cattle and ornery mule. Merle took to a side as Otis did the same. Jimmy was carrying the rear. Behind them, the remaining cattle either started to follow or remained where they stood.

~~~…

Sarah watched as the group of men and one woman began to take snapshots to the walkers behind the gates. She was amazed by seeing several of the faces were familiar. Holding her own rifle, she decided to help. She was perched in a wild walnut tree, only thirty feet from the new folks. Raising her gun to her right eyes, she took aim and began falling walkers.

“Who the hell is that?” she heard the blonde woman ask. She kept on shooting the walkers, smiling as she was taking headshots. She had no scope, but she was thankful for Brian Redfern for teaching her snapshots.

“Never mind her. Keep shooting!” the large, curly-haired man ordered. The blonde made some sort of huff and went back on shooting. She had a shitty aim. Sarah glanced down to the snoozing pile of blankets as her oldest daughter kept an eye out for walkers. A scrappy looking goat was chewing on some cud, a rickety cart behind the goat. Next to the scrappy goat stood a thick wool ram, the relaxed ungulates attached to the cart.

“Jordan! Wake your sister up!” Sarah whispered. Her daughter, Jordan nodded and gently shook the pile of blankets. She smiled as she heard soft whines coming from the two-year-old.

“Damn, that woman is one hell of a shot.” the darker-skinned man commented. Sarah felt herself warming to the off-handed praise. finishing off her round of bullets, Sarah then climbed out of the tree and placed her old hunting .22 over her shoulder. She then scooped up the fussy two-year-old, who made soft whines of displeasure. Jordan had the blankets folded and tied in a bundle. She placed the blankets in the cart next to several boxes of shiny bullets, a jury-rigged bullet mold, two machetes, and several coffee cans of nuts, homemade hardback, and fatty deer jerky. The grumpy two-year-old clung to her mother, learning real quick that being quiet is a good thing.

“Hello! Can we join you?” Sarah called out. The curly-haired man stood from where he was shooting and approached Sarah and her daughters.

“Hello there, ma’am. My name is Shane Walsh. We have a larger group coming and we were clearing out the walkers for our livestock.” Sarah felt her jaw drop.

“Shane? You said your name was Shane Walsh? THE Shane Walsh?” she stammered. Shane was caught off guard by her amazement.

“Uh, yeah. Behind me finishing off the walkers is T-Dog,” the dark-skinned man nodded to her, “Daryl Dixon,” the brash looking man only grazed her with piercing blue eyes, “And Andrea.” The smarmy looking blonde scowled at Sarah.

“You have got to be shitting me! I cannot believe I am meeting Shane Walsh and the Quarry galley!” Sarah was gently bouncing her grumpy toddler as her older daughter was starstruck as well. Shane was baffled, but he remained calm as the toddler peeked from her mother’s arms at the man. She waved her chubby little hand. The scrappy goat and gnarly ram bleated at him, both bored at the man.

“How do I know you? Better yet, how do you know my name?” Shane asked. Sarah smiled.

“I can’t really say how I know you. I’m not from here. I don’t even know how I ended up in Georgia!”

“…Where are you from? And are you also from the future?” Shane asked. Sarah paused, confused at the question.

“I’m from the year 2020, and I lived in Montana.” Shane balked at the woman.

“…This may be a long shot, but do you know a snarky girl named Jenna Redfern?” Sarah gasped. She placed the toddler on the goat cart and ran to grab a handful of Shane’s sweaty shirt.

“You know Jenna? Where is she? Where is my little sister?”

~~~…

“...Didn’t we start out with fourteen heads of cattle?” Merle asked. The sun was beginning to set for the night, so the driving group began to settle down for the night. Jenna had a pit dug for fire, and a decent ring ready. Her ugly little puppy was gnawing on strip of steer leather next to the roll of blankets the girl snagged for her resting post. Otis and Jimmy had a ring of bells around the perimeter to warn them of walkers. Jimmy was currently somewhere behind a tree, taking a piss. Otis was keeping watch.

Jenna was taking of water as she counted the cattle. She had a small dish out for Murphy.

“You’re right. There are three more cows…and is that a bison?” Merle looked at the hulking monster of a bovine that was gnawing on some knapweed. It sure as hell did not look like a common cow. It was hunched, not from poor breeding or injury, but from raw muscle. Twin horns curved slightly over its head, like a pair of straight blank knives. Merle could tell from the thickness of the hide that no walker was ever going to take a bite out its neck. In the dimming light, the creature was a russet red with thick black hooves perfect for busting open heads. Jenna was right, that is a bison.

“Where did the bison come from?” Merle asked. Jenna took another sip of water.

“Probably came from a meat farm. Must have got loose when the world went to shit. It must have seen our small herd and decided to join. Surprised to see only one.” The bison snorted and shook its thick mane. Jenna scanned the now bigger herd, taking note of three more heads of cattle.

“I noticed that three of the cows are strays from Hershel’s. The other three must have been from the same meat farm as the bison. Oh well, it’ll never hurt to have more cows.” Jenna then took out a few strips of salted and smoked beef and broke off pieces to feed to a begging Murphy. Merle took a chunk off with his teeth.

“How much further to this prison?” Merle asked, sipping a bit of his own water. Jenna pulled out a flashlight and a map from her bag. She kept her poncho on, warding off the soft bite of coldness.

“It’s another six miles if I’m reading this right. By going through the woods, we will cross a river, and it’ll be another five miles. If we take limited breaks, we should reach the prison by Tomorrow night.” Jenna explained.

“Why so long?” Merle asked. Jimmy came over and began to set out his own bedroll. Jenna was squinting as she read the topography of the map.

“There are quite a few hills we need to scale. However, when we reach the river, we can shift over to the bridge, that’ll cut off about an hour of our journey. That’s not taking into account the walkers we may run into.” Jenna glanced over towards Jimmy, the teenage boy grumbling about sleeping on the dirt. She rolled her eyes.

“Weak. I’ll take first watch.” Jenna then rolled the map back up and placed it in Oakley’s saddlebag. Murphy was stumbling after Jenna as the girl wove through the cattle, using only the half-moon for its light. Merle watched as her horse followed her. Turning to settle his own bedroll, Merle noted the Otis was watching the dark woods.

“Hey, you can take a break now. Jenna’s taking the first watch,” he grumbled. Otis spared another glance to the woods.

“She can’t watch all the livestock and us at the same time. I’ll wait here and watch the camp as she takes heed of the cows.” Otis explained. Merle snorted. The two older men turned at the same time as Jimmy slipped into a fretful sleep.

“Suit yourself. Goodnight.” Merle found himself slipping into a light sleep, listening to the murmur of the cattle, the rustling of broad leaves, and the whiny snores of the teenage twit nearby.

When morning came, Merle was cackling as he spotted Jenna snoring softly curled next to Oakley, the mare resting on the ground, Murphy sleeping on Jenna’s plush breast. Otis was asleep leaning against a tree, his gun still in his hands haphazardly. Since he was on watch with a whiny idiot, He heated up some water to make some instant coffee. Jenna was already waking up at the scent of the bitter drink.

“Morning Merle. How as your watch?” Merle took a sip of his god awful coffee.

“Pretty calm. Only one walker. Dead bastard tried to take a bite out of the bison, the beast kicked it down and stomped on its head. Other than that, I’m surprised the cattle remained calm.” Jenna popped up, like a damn gopher, and looked over the rousing cattle.

“Well, now we have twenty cows and a buffalo. Wake up Otis and get Jimmy to start stripping the camp.”

After twenty minutes, the drive was back on.

~~~…

Rick had the temporary camp ready to serve breakfast as Shane and Lori slept in. With Lori pregnant, and Shane tired from executing walkers, Rick took charge. Over by a nearby creek, Carl, The Morales twins, and Duane were happily conversing with the Redfern girl, Jordan if he recalled, as they played in the shallow water. After meeting Sarah, Rick could easily tell that the curvy and sweet-tempered woman was Jenna’s older sister. But while Jenn was short, Sarah was tall. Both the Redfern sisters were voluptuous, But Sarah’s body was more mature since she was a mother. Rick found that gentle softness on Sarah beautiful. Sarah had thick, curly hair, lighter in color than Jenna’s. She wore it short since she couldn’t find a strong enough brush for her thick hair. The sisters were different, that is obvious, but Sarah was quiet and mellow in comparison to Jenna’s fiery and swaggering temper.

Right now, Sarah was heating up some of the goat’s milk she got from her scrappy goat for her toddler. The baby was only two, and she was mild-mannered and quiet for a baby. With her mother fixing her breakfast of warmed goats milk and softened hardtack, the baby was simple to please.

Earlier some time of the night, Group three arrived and went to go help T-Dog and Daryl on finishing off the walkers. Sophia was helping Sarah tend to her baby, whose name he did not know yet. Jacqui, Carol, and Amy were stabbing walkers through the fence, saving bullets for later. Miranda was helping Sarah with breakfast, making oatmeal with dried peaches.

Shane slipped out of the tent he shared with Lori, his own curly mop of hair frizzled and staggering in all directions. Rick laughed.

“Nice buzz you got going!” he chortled. Shane flipped him off. The toddler made a soft squealing sound and flipped Shane off. That got the awoken adults laughing. Daryl was stalking back, wiping his knife on the sleeve of his pants. Behind him, Andrea and T-Dog were cleaning their respected weapons.

“When is Jenna going to get here?” Daryl asked, albeit gruffly. Rick noticed that Sarah was getting antsy at the sound of her sister’s name. He also spotted Carl and the other kids coming out of the creek, damp but happy. The new girl, Jordan, was quiet, and rather serious for someone who was only eleven.

“Who is my sister with?” Sarah asked. Daryl took a sip of some weak ass tea made from peach skins.

“Some wimpy boy, a farmhand and my dumb ass of a brother,” he stated. Sarah smiled.

“Oh boy. Merle Dixon is going to be driven mad up the wall. Jenna has that effect on many people. No wonder our daddy called her hell kitten.” Sarah was tending to her toddler as the fussy baby finished her breakfast.

“She’s more of a pretty viper than a kitten,” Daryl muttered, taking a bite out of some ash gritty hardtack biscuits. Sarah nodded her head in agreement.

“That too.”

All the walkers in the yard were slain by high noon. Piling the bodies into a quickly dug out pit, Rick and Hershel motioned for the trailers full of livestock to enter first. The horses were nickering as they trotted out, one of them rolling in the dust. Using some dog kennel sides, Shane and Morgan had a section of the inner fence built for a pigpen. The sow and her teeny piglets grunted and snorted as they dug through the new ground, happily eating up roots and some bugs. Using more of the dog fence, Morales and Glenn made a small gate in front of the chicken trailer, turning it into a quick coop. Peeking into the trailer, Rick sent Duane and Eliza to gather the fresh eggs. Sarah had her ram and goat mingling with the horses as she settled her cart underneath a terrace in the concrete section of the yard. Daryl was helping her set up a table to put down food and clean water. Lori had Carol, Amy, and Patricia setting up fire pits for cooking and boiling water for drinking and laundry. Jacqui had corralled T-Dog and Dale to start digging a ditch for water to trickle through from the nearby creek. Andrea had Beth and Maggie helping her unload the cars. The children were told to stay on the concrete under the newly erected shade. Sophia and Eliza had bonded with Jordan as the three boys quickly made a game with taunting the ram. Sarah was laughing as Duane and Cipriano got chased by the muley ram.

“I would quit doing that! That ram can hit as hard as a truck!” she warned. Soon enough, all three boys were shrieking away as the ram chased them around the courtyard. Daryl stopped what he was doing and laughed as all three boys dove into the RV, slamming the door shut as the ram bleated and stalked the vehicle.

“I warned them.”

~~~…

Merle Let out a loud whoop as the prison gates glistened in the sun in front of him. The yard was already chocked with their group and now several new pens fixed for livestock were dotted around the second gate. Jenna grinned as she spotted the fences.

“Hey, we’re here. Guess it took less time than I thought!” Jenna then let out a whoop and began to bring her section of cows into a steady trot Merle followed suit. For some reason, the bison remained close to a giddy Oakley. Jimmy and Otis took on the rear.

Approaching the gate, Jenna grinned as she saw Rick and Hershel open the said gate. Leading the cattle and one bison in, Jenna slowed Oakley to a slow canter, easing her into a cool-off lap.

“Jenna. It’s really you.” the short girl stopped in her tracks as Sarah placed her toddler down. Both sisters then bolted for each other.

“Sarah!!!!” Jenna then wailed, this time her tears were shed with joy. The older woman was also sobbing as she held her baby sister. And Rick, Shane, and the Dixons smiled, happy to see their little prophet genuinely happy.


	18. Chapter 18

Cipri was hating the balmy Georgia heat. The grouchy nine-year-old was scowling as the two men on guard fucked off somewhere. That meant no one was watching the baby. Dammit.

He had no idea how he ended up in his niece’s favorite show, but the TWD universe was bizarre. And sadly, a lot of these survivors were morons. Just because he was a nine-year-old now, they acted like he had no idea how serious this shit is. They wouldn’t even let him carry a gun! For fuck’s sake! His older sister was the best hunter in the family, and she trained him. He was allowed to carry a knife, but the group balked at the machete he found.

Thinking back on the unguarded aby, Cipri knew what he had to do. While the two men were gone, he slipped into the stylish apartment, amazed at how clean it was, despite being in a living hell. He learned how to be light-footed, stepping over the minefield of baby toys. He checked the first room, finding the two men who were supposed to be watching, slumped over in a drug-induced stupor. He sneered at the unconscious men. Finding the second room, which held the snoozing baby, Cipri then turned and locked the door, pushing a decent-sized dresser in front of the door. If he was right, the first walker will be entering the camp.

Soon enough, the alarms went up as the barricade was breached.

~~~…

Jenna was giggling, happily playing with her toddler niece. The baby was squealing as Jenna then chased to baby around the courtyard, the puppy Murphy yapping and chasing them as well. Putting together some dinner, Sarah smiled at her little sister.

“Sarah, right?” turning, the older Redfern sister smiled as Rick and his bowlegged gait sauntered up to her. She was making a thin stew from some dried beef, daylily roots, and wild garlic bulbs.

“What is it, Rick? Is everything alright?” she asked. Rick was blushing as he fought to keep his eyes on the curvy woman’s face.

“Everything is fine. I just want to say thank you for helping out my group. And…I only have known Jenna for less than a month, and I can tell she is so much happier. But something is niggling my head. Was Jenna abused?” Sarah paused in her cooking.

“To tell you the truth, I ain’t Jenna’s biological sister. I’m her sister in law. I married her oldest brother, Brian Redfern. Brian and Jenna had different fathers and Different mothers. Brian was actually Jenna’s favorite older cousin. But his daddy took in Jenna, raised her, trained her, and she called him dad. When I married Brian, Jenna was tiny, very tiny. She was shy, but when I got pregnant with Jordan, she adored being an auntie. I love Jenna like my own little sister. I knew she mourned Brian’s death. I tried to comfort her, but my own mother was livid, threaten to report that my children were in danger because of what Jenna’s mother has done. About a week ago, I was watching my children cry as we buried their favorite auntie.” Sarah was fighting back her sobs as she turned and smiled at Jenna, who somehow had the ram on his side as she gently untangled his thick and wooly coat with a dog brush Sarah had brought with her. Rick turned and was surprised.

“How the hell did she do that?” Rick asked. Sarah chuckled.

“She used to do this to her father’s rams. They would only let her groom and shear them. She loved it.” Rick chuckled as the ram was then allowed up, his dark coat all fluffy. He bleated and gently butted Jenna’s hip. Sarah’s two daughters were watching as she did the same to the scrappy goat and Murphy.

“So, how did you get here? In our world? Jenna told me enough that we are loved and famous in your world.” Rick asked. Sarah gently added salt into the thin stew.

“My youngest, Janie, wanted me to read her one of Jenna’s books. I grabbed a lot of her books after she died, My daughters cherished those many novels. The book I read was about your journey to the prison. In our world, it took you eight months. As I was reading the novel to Janie, I fought hard not to cry. I wished that I were with Jenna, the last true Redfern. When I woke up, Janie, Jordan, and I were on the highway graveyard. I found a truck that was transporting livestock, but the ram and goat were the only ones alive. There was a car with them, so I attached the cart and loaded blankets into it for my baby Jordan found some guns and a lot of dried food. Most of it was homemade hardtack, which is gross, but it works. I remembered Jenna reading the prison novel to my girls, so I set out to find it. I was going to find my little sister, one way or another.” Rick smiled as Sarah then pulled out some of the hardtack biscuits and dipped it in the stew broth.

“Not bad. But it needs something.” Sarah then offered a bit of biscuit towards Rick, who gladly took it.

“Hmm… taste great. But you’re right. It’s missing something. But it should be okay for now.” Sarah shrugged and began pouring the thin stew into bowls.

“Elderly first, then kids, then Lori, and after that, it’s free for all.” Rick nodded and ladled out five bowls for Otis, Patricia, Dale, Hershel, and Merle. Sarah helped him hand each bowl to each older person, chuckling as Jenna cackled at Merle when he was grouped with the elders. Even Daryl was throwing his head back and laughing. He smiled as Jenna explained why he was served as an elder and watched as Merle blushed and calmed down.

They then set out bowls for each child: Janie, Cipriano, Eliza, Jordan, Carl, Duane, and Sophia. Each child was given two biscuits as they went to sit to eat. Rick then got Lori a bowl and some biscuits and handed it to her. He was startled a bit as Sarah handed him a bowl and biscuits.

“Thank you, I could have done it myself,” he replied. Sarah smiled.

“I know. But I wanted to.” Serving herself a bowl, Sarah went to sit with her kids. Jenna took heed and served herself and filled another bowl. With odd grace, she swayed over to Daryl and handed him a bowl. The older man was smiling. It was a nice look than his usual scowl. Soon after, everyone was sipping warm stew, dunking their rot-resistant hardtack in the broth.

~~~…

Jenna was armed with a thick iron fire poker as she slid into the cell blocks. Daryl, Rick, and Glenn stood behind her. Using a compact mirror to peek around the corners.

“Oh, this will be easy. There are only five walkers. Six if you count the one stuck in a cell. Stay in formation.” Jenn tucked the mirror into her shirt and slipped away. Daryl and the other followed.

The walkers caught their scent and turned, rasping as they reached out for fresh food. Jenna whistled at one still in riot gear, grabbing its attention. Thanks to being a whole foot shorter than the walker, she slipped under his arms and jammed the poker through the lower jaw.

Removing the poker, Jenna then turned and quickly took out another. She turned to continue but paused as all the walkers were unanimated. She blushed as Daryl was watching her.

“Wow. You took out two walkers.” Glenn whispered, in awe at the younger girl. Rick and Daryl nodded in agreement.

“Thank you. This block is cleared. Glenn, you can go and tell everyone they can enter this block. Have Shane, T-Dog, and Jimmy take the dead walkers to the burn pit. The next part will be more challenging. We need to get to the cafeteria.” Glenn nodded and ran out. Jenna cleaned off the sharp end of her poker. Daryl was being thorough and was checking every cell as Rick was then helping Sarah with Janie. Jenna smiled as the baby squealed and reached for her auntie. Jenna was happy to oblige the baby.

~~~…

Cipri heard the walkers tear into the two men in the other room. The shouts of pain did make the baby wake up.

“Shh…It’s okay Andre. I won’t let those walkers get you. Shh… Your mama should be coming soon. Please be quiet.” the baby made soft sniffles, but he calmed down. Cipri picked him up and held the baby, pleased that he was keeping him calm.

The walkers paused in front of the blocked door. Cipri held his breath as the baby whimpered and buried his head in the older boy’s shirt, but the small child remained quiet.

“…Terry?! Mike?!” Cipri smiled as he heard her voice. The sharp shing of the sword was quick as it took out the walkers.

“ANDRE!!!! Andre!!!” he heard her scream. Andre’s mother rattled on the door, fighting to enter the nursery. The nine-year-old then placed the baby back into his crib. He pushed his blockades out of way, taking a step back as the door slammed open. A woman stood in front of him, tall, skin rich as dark coffee, her hair in cords/dreads. She stared him down, locking eyes with the child.

“Who are you?” she ordered. Cipri held up his hands in surrender.

“My name is Cipriano Redfern. I’m looking for the lady who raised me. And you are Michonne. I can help you keep your baby alive, but I ask that you take me to find my sister.”


	19. Chapter 19

Cipri followed Michonne as she turned her boyfriend and his stupid friend into pets. Baby Andre was cooing as he clung to the slightly older boy, content to being held.

“Do you have any idea where your sister would be? How do you know she is alive?” Michonne asked. The tall, dark-haired woman kept her sword unsheathed as they slowly weaved through the dead laden streets.

“I don’t know. But my sister is strong and very smart. She is going to be alive. She has to be.” Cipri felt his voice drop in volume. Michonne bit the inside of her cheek.

“I’ll help you find your sister. It’s the least I can do since you saved my baby. But I need a designation.” Andre babbled at his mama, happy as he can be. Cipri walked close to the older woman, the baby in his arms starting to grow heavy. He hated being a pipsqueak again.

“Here. Let me carry him.” Picking up her son, Michonne held the toddler on her hip as Cipri took out his machete. He took the chains that held the walkers and waited for Michonne’s word. The dark-skinned woman nodded.

“Where shall we look for your sister, first?” she asked. Cipri turned towards the North of Atlanta.

“My sister adored Greene County. Let's try the jail there.” Michonne nodded and began to move towards Green County. Cipri followed.

~~~…

Stalking through the dark concrete halls, Jenna pierced the rotting heads of the walkers, casually moving back and forth. Merle and Rick took the front, the older man occasionally turning to keep an eye on her. Glenn, T-Dog and for some reason, Jimmy all took out walkers and marked their way in the halls.

“There. That’s the door to the cafeteria.” Jenna then stepped over a bludgeoned walker and stood in front of the door. Jimmy took a step back to ogle her plump ass, earning a smack across the head from Merle. The gruff man was protective of the girl.

Jenna was finishing her round on the walkers when Jimmy decided to poke one. The walker twitched awake, growling, and rasping as it lunged out to chomp on Jimmy’s palm. Jimmy let out a bellow of pain. Jenna was quick and finished off the walker as Glenn then pushed the doors open. Merle scooped up the wailing boy and T-Dog ushered in the group, shutting the door behind them. Rick took up the rear, keeping an eye on any more lurking walkers.

Jimmy was still howling and crying as Merle found a table and plopped the boy onto it. Jenna was fiddling with her bra under her shirt. She undid the clasp and pulled out the elastic and tied Jimmy’s wrist off, tight.

“Hold him down! Rick, Give me your axe. Glenn, get a fire going!” Jenna was handed T-Dog’s axe as Glenn found a butane torch to start up. Merle paled. He figured out what she was about to do. Jenna then took off her shirt, her bare breasts somewhat hypnotizing Jimmy into a second of silence, gaping. She then stuffed her shirt in his mouth, making damn sure he was silent. She raised the axe, giving Jimmy a look of forgiveness.

It only took two hacks of the axe, snapping the bleeding hand off at the wrist. Glenn turned to vomit as T-Dog heaved. Rick kept Jimmy’s arm still as she finished cutting the limb off. Merle reached out to grab the torch from panicking Glenn, pressing it to Jimmy’s stump, cauterizing the wound. Merle fought back his gagging as the stink of burning bone and flesh sizzled, sealing off the injury. Jimmy was conked out, passed out from shock, blood loss, he wasn’t sure. He reached out to remove the fabric in his mouth.

“Holy shit? Did you see that girl?” Merle turned and raised his gun, pointing at a group of five men in prison garments. Jenna turned, raising the axe in her hand. She ignored the state of her nakedness.

“Hey, Little Lady? Are these the men we needed to find?” Merle asked. Jenna nodded, lowering the axe, but not relaxing. Glenn and T-Dog noticed that the men were openly gawking at Jenna. Glenn turned to see why and let out a yelp as Jenna was topless. Merle, noticing her nakedness as well, took off his own shirt and dropped it over Jenna’s head. The girl slipped it on, ignoring the unsupported weight of her breasts. Rick aimed his pistol at the group of men, his face stern as they ogled the woman in front of them.

“Hey.” she waved at the men. The biggest guy waved back.

~~~…

Lori was scowling as Morgan did a quick check-up on Sarah’s baby. The two-year-old was babbling as she retold her day in baby language. Sarah was pacing in front of the door as Daryl watched from his perch. Andrea and Amy were picking out a cell for their room as Cipriano and Duane picked another. Carl, Beth, Jordan, and Jimmy all found their own cells that were going to be claimed solo. Jenna earlier claimed the perch opposite of Daryl’s as her area before she left with her husband and group to clear out the prison. She gave the go-ahead towards Glenn and Maggie, the farmer's daughter so that they can claim a watchtower as their room. Hershel and Morgan decided to room near the doors as Miranda and her husband picked a cell near to Eliza and Sophia. Carol and Jacqui bunked together, being the only two without partners or siblings. Otis and his wife claimed a watchtower parallel to Glenn and Maggie’s.

Huffing the woman watched Sarah pace. She was waiting for her sister. Daryl was probably waiting for the bitch as well.

“Open the doors!!” Sarah jumped to open the doors as Merle ran through carrying Jimmy…who was now missing a hand. Behind the older redneck, Jenna, Rick, and Glenn ran in as T-Dog corralled some men in jumpsuits into a corner with his gun. Hershel and Morgan came running over.

“What happened?” Morgan asked. Jenna was trembling, which seemed to make Sarah reach out and hold the girl.

“What happened?” Sarah asked in a calmer tone. Jenna began to cry.

“I tried to make sure no one got hurt. But Jimmy…he was being a dipshit. And he got bit.” the younger Redfern sister wailed into her older sister’s embrace. Behind the doctors, Beth let out a gasp. SO did Lori and Andrea, and one of the jumpsuit men.

“He was bit?” Morgan asked, slipping into the mask of professionalism.

“On his palm. I cut off his hand.” she whimpered. Some of the women made more gasps of shock. Hershel and Morgan started to tend to the unconscious Jimmy.

“Quick thinking. That may have saved his life. You cauterized the wound?” Morgan asked. Jenna nodded.

“I was going to, but Merle did it instead,” she replied. Morgan examined the stump, impressed with e quick work.

“Hershel and I will take of him from here.” Jenna nodded and slipped out of her sister’s hold. She then turned to the men in jumpsuits.

“My name is Jenna Redfern. Welcome to the end of the modern world.”

~~~…

Jenna made the five men follow her out into the courtyard. The ginger-haired man gasped as he saw the livestock ambling about in the grass. The two larger black men gasped at seeing the shambling walkers pattering on the outer fence. The mousy black man next to the _cholo_ was fretting as the lone bison lowed and walked over to Jenna. The _cholo_ was glaring at Jenna, livid.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?! Showing us that you moved in? Are you kicking us out? Taking over?!” he snarled. Behind Jenna, Merle and Daryl, her redneck bodyguards, lifted their weapons and pointed them at the unruly men. Jenna placed a hand on Daryl’s shoulder, calming him. She then turned to glower back at the _cholo_.

“Listen, Tomas was it?” the now-named Tomas flinched as he heard his name from the girl. Jenna smiled, a cool, cold twist of the lips. “I am not kicking you out. But we are taking over. You are free to stay, as long as you earn your keep and pull your weight. But I will tell you this: cross me, or any of my people… I will render you into a walker.” Tomas took a step back from the cold girl. He never thought he would be terrified of a teenager.

Jenn then turned to the two larger men.

“Oscar and Big Tiny, right?” she asked. The two men nodded, baffled.

“I’m sorry to say, but your families are gone. The world went to hell in a handbasket, but that doesn’t mean it is truly over. It’ll take time to rebuild. It’ll cost us blood, sweat, tears, our lives even. But we will not become the Walking Dead.” Jenna kept to herself that she was ripping off Rick’s speech from the comics.

The one known as Big Tiny fought back a cry. Jenna moved to touch his arm.

“I know you miss your moms. I miss my family too. But this group became another family for me. I got lucky that I found my sister and nieces. I don’t know a lot about you, but I know you are a good man with a big heart. Will you join our group, and help us reform this broken world?” The large man was openly crying, to the disgust of Tomas and the mousy black guy.

“I’ll help,” he replied. Jenna smiled. She gave the big guy a hug, albeit timidly, and took a step back.

“Axel, Oscar. From what I know you guys are only small-time crooks. You are in here because you are both dumb asses. But despite that, you are good. Will you help rebuild our world?” Oscar, being the buffer of the two, nodded and held out his hand to shake.

“I will. I realize my wife and kids are gone now. But if I can fix this shithole enough to gain a new family, then that’s good enough for me.” Jenna smiled and shook the offered limb. She turned to Axel, waiting for his answer.

“What the hell? I never did much with my life before, might as well see if this is my second chance.” He reached out to shake her hand as well. Jenna then turned to the hostile Tomas and Andrew.

“What about you two? If I even get a hint of discourse from you, I will end you. What will it be?” deep down, Jenna knew the answer.

“Fuck you.” Tomas pulled out a gun from somewhere and pointed the six-shooter at the girl. He was quick, but Merle was quicker. With a crack, Tomas crumpled into a heap, a brain oozing hole winking on his forehead. Beside the corpse, Andrew was wailing.

“You killed him! You fucking killed him!” he stammered. Daryl and Merle turned their weapons to him.

“What? You were his butt buddy or something?” Merle verbally jabbed. Andrew fell to his knees, still wailing like a siren.

“Shut up! You’ll bring down a herd!” Daryl snarled. Andrew still wailed. Jenna sighed and raised her poker, bringing it down on the back of his head. She didn’t kill him, though. Andrew let out a yelp and slumped down. He now had a decent sized lump on the back of his head.

“Damn, you are mean.” Merle joked. Big Tiny was chuckling as Axel and Oscar laughed as well.

“Thank god he is quiet. Do you know how long we had to hear him suck up to Tomas? Since the fucking riots! We may have been together for only two fucking months, but that was too long!” Oscar chortled. Jenna grinned.

“Big Tiny? Can you pick him up? We’ll lock him in a cell for now.” Big Tiny nodded and lifted the scrawny man. Jenna then turned back to the redneck brothers.

“We can start clearing out a second block in a bit. Right now, let gets some lunch.” Jenna felt her stomach gurgle and growl. The three new members nodded and followed Jenna into the prison. Merle and Daryl looked down at Tomas’ dead body.

“Just throw him over the fence and let the walkers eat him.” Daryl gruffed. Merle nodded and went to do so.

~~~…

After explaining to the group about the prisoners, almost everyone relaxed. Sarah then walked outside to prepare lunch, Carol and Patricia following the plump younger woman. The rest of the group pandered about, falling walkers through the fence and tending to the livestock. All the girls were happily cooing at the Baby Janie as she cuddled with a very happy Murphy. The boys were sticking close to their fathers, wanting to learn. Sophia was happily trailing Jenna as she went to gather eggs for cooking. Lori grabbed Shane’s arm, tugging him over to a corner of the courtyard.

“Shane, I know we need Jenna. But she is insane. She corrupted Rick int believing we need her. And I’m carrying your baby, so please...make her go? She is dangerous.” Lori simpered, trying to make the large man see her way. Shane shrugged off the shrewish woman.

“How the hell can you say that? After everything she has done?” Shane snarled, anger starting to simmer inside him. Nearby, Andrea inched closer, ready to cast in her two cents.

“She’s right Shane. Jenna is dangerous. What if she hurts one of the kids? If I were you, I wouldn’t let my kid near her. You’ve seen how crass she is with her own niece, how will be around one of our own kids?” Andrea needled.

“Seriously? I ain't a detective, but I know you two are envious of the damn girl! Lori, you’re jealous that Rick prefers her bouts of wisdom than the comforts of his wife. And Andrea, you’re jealous because she actually knows how to use a gun. And you are both jealous because she is prettier. For fucks sake, she is a teenage girl. And furthermore, I believe her when she says she ain’t from this world. She is…otherworldly, in her calmness in this calamity and how she prefers the Dixons. You do realize that despite you two harassing her and belittling her, she still stayed close to help? Don’t approach me again about any complaints about Jenna.” Shane turned on his heel, fuming mad. Lori was shaking.

“What about her sister?! That Sarah is the one stealing my husband now!” the brunette woman shrieked. Andrea was nodding, agreeing with the pregnant woman.

“Are you serious? Lori, you used me for your own comfort, then pushed me away and blamed everything on me or Jenna. I don’t blame Rick for looking at Sarah. She is pretty.” Lori and Andrea both gaped at the proclamation. Shane, not having anything else to say, left the two bitchy women where they stood.

“No…Jenna is dangerous. She has to be!” Lori whined. Andrea was trying to consul the woman.

“She is dangerous. Even Amy is being hypnotized by her. I’ll help you prove her guiltiness.” Lori smiled at the woman, her eyes glazed with something akin to insanity. Andrea was now nervous. What the hell is she doing?

~~~…

Michonne found a car with plenty of gas still in the tank. Loading up supplies, Andre and Cipri, she turned to her two walker pets, scowling.

“You brought this on yourself.” she hissed, unsheathing her sword. With reflexes parallel to a fierce tigress, she killed the walkers, letting them drop to the dirt. She turned and entered the car, glancing at a now sleeping Andre and a sleepy Cipri.

“We’ll head out towards Greene County Correction facility. There should be someone there.” Michonne stated. Cipri nodded. He glanced out the window as Michonne left her walker boyfriend and friend in the road to continue to rot.

“I’m coming, Jenna. I’m coming…”


	20. Chapter 20

Jimmy was up and about after three days. Thanks to Morgan, the moronic teenage boy escaped his death. Stepping outside after days of rest, he sighed as the warm sun made him want to bask. Hershel was walking alongside him, just in case. The two men were inching their way outside into the courtyard, smiling as the Greene sisters, Patricia and Otis all let out soft cheers at the sight of the younger man. He was pale, but nothing that a bit of sunlight and some warm meals can fix.

In the courtyard, Axel and Oscar were helping the Dixon brothers tie, actually tie, some of the now, jawless and limbless walkers to the fence. The big gentle looking guy, Big Tiny, was smiling as a calf butted his thighs for bits of dried fruit. Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Morales were digging a ditch for the creek nearby to trail into the fences. Andrea, Lori, Jacqui, and Carol were settling sections of the courtyard to use for laundry. Amy, Mrs. Morales, and Sarah were tending to the rambunctious kids, using books to teach them how to scavenge for medicinal and edible plants. And Jenna…where was she?

Jimmy turned to Hershel, confused. The older veterinarian was surveying the busy workers…and one brave boy trying to tease the ram again. It didn’t work.

“Where’s Jenna? I want to thank her,” he asked the older man. Hershel scanned the group, searching for the odd girl.

“Let’s ask her sister.” Walking over to Sarah, who was currently showing Carl which part of some creek plants were useable. She looked up and smiled at the two.

“Jimmy. You’re awake. It’s a good thing Jenna made Morgan and Hershel gather antibiotics before she got everyone here. She’s a little General, you should have seen her when she was bossing around her older brothers. Her daddy would howl with laughter. I’m sorry, I’m trailing off. Do you need anything? Some food? Water? Are you in pain?” Sarah asked. Jimmy smiled at the gentlewoman.

“I’m okay for now. Have you seen Jenna around? I wanted to thank her for making sure I didn’t end up as a walker.” Jimmy asked. Sarah smiled and pointed out into the field where the small herd of cows and goats were mowing down the grass. The ugly Chupacabra looking puppy was gnawing on a deer leg. It seemed last night one of the Dixons, or one of the Redfern sisters, went hunting and brought back a fat deer. Near the edge of the courtyard, Jimmy saw the carcass of the deer slowly being cooked, rotisserie-style. His mouth watered at the smell of roasted venison and…is that sage? He let out a moan.

“…Immy? Jimmy? You were asking about Jenna?” Sarah waved her hand in front of the boy. Jimmy flinched and turned back to face the woman.

“I’m sorry. That roasting deer smells wonderful.” Sarah smiled.

“It’s fine. Jenna is sleeping in the field right next to the roasting pit. Here, bring her some of this.” the kinder Redfern sister then handed Jimmy a bottle of water and some dried beef. Using his one good hand, the teenager carried the food over to the savior.

~~~…

Michonne parked the car over an edge of a hill, keeping her fussy baby in the car.

“The Greene County Correctional is just a mile over the hill. How do we tell if your sister is there?” the older woman asked. Cipri grinned, a maniacal feature on the nine-year-old.

“Easy. I’ll simply get as close as I can to the prison, scope them out and if I see my sister…I’ll whistle our code she made us learn.” he chirped. Michonne gave the boy an odd look.

“I’m placing a lot of trust in you, brat. How will I know your sister will accept my son and me into her group?” Michonne asked. Cipri smiled, a calmer version of his crazy grin.

“My sister knows the same thing I know. If she knows what I know, then it’ll be much better for us.” Cipri then turned back to the car. Baby Andre was babbling and waving at the boy as he pulled out his machete and one pistol.

“Boy, that gun is almost as big as you are. You know how to use it?” she asked. Cipri nodded.

“I do. My sister taught me. Got to go.” Grabbing a bottle of water, the boy began to hike. Michonne sighed and began to set up a small camp. She kept it close to the car and Andre.

Cipri was shimmying up a tree as he spotted the grey towers of the prison. With a pair of binoculars, he was impressed to say at least. Someone had already come in and had some walkers propped on the fence. Smart. The corpses made a scent barrier, keeping away walkers and people. There was a decent herd of cows, one bison, some goats, and horses. He kinda scowled at the horses. He saw some cars being used as a barrier, and a horse trailer being used as a coop. He smiled even wider as he saw some familiar faces digging a ditch from the creek and through the fences. His smile grew as he saw a lean-to and resting right under it…was a familiar thick-thighed girl known as Jenna Cavra Redfern.

He put away the binoculars and took in a breath. He let out three mournful sounding notes*.

~~~…

Jenna shot up from her napping, startling the hell out of Jimmy, who was walking over to her. He jumped, dropping the meat and water. Her three diabolical birds pounced on the dropped food and tore into the meat like miniature velociraptors.

“Jenna? Is everything…”

“Shh…” Jenna hissed. She concentrated, seeking out that sound. And then, she heard it. Three, long, mournful whistle notes. She let out a joyful sob. Jumping up, she then took off for the fence, ignoring the shouts of her group.

The notes rang out again, encouraging her to move faster. Since the gate was partially opened so people can secure walkers to the fence, Negan style…or something similar. Behind her, she heard Murphy trying his ugly best to keep up. Apparently, the Dixon brothers were right behind her.

The notes were coming from up the hill looking over the prison. She stopped, panting.

“Nanos,” she whispered. The men behind her were confused. She grinned, threw back her head, and let out a series of crows. She strained to hear the responding whistles. And grinned as she heard a two-note whistle*. She then waited.

She didn’t have to wait long. Scurrying down the tree like a demented squirrel that used to terrorize her porch, was her beloved baby brother.

“NANOS!!!!!” she screamed running to hold her baby brother. Cipriano Roy Redfern was crying happily as he clung to the softness of his motherly sister.

“Sister. Jenna. I’m so sorry! I should have stayed away like you told me too. You were right.” Cipri cried. Jenna was also crying, her tears rich with love and happiness.

“I’m just glad you’re alright. I hated that I never answered that phone. But you’re here. And you’re safe.” Jenna began peppering his head with soft, dry kisses, much to the youngest Redfern’s chagrin.

“Jenna? Who is the boy?” Daryl asked, lowering his weapon. Jenna turned and smiled, despite her vision clouded by her tears.

“It’s my baby brother. Daryl, Merle, Jimmy. This is Cipriano Roy Redfern.”

~~~…

Rick was keeping Janie calm after her aunt took off for the fields, the Dixons and Jimmy following right behind her. The fussy baby wanted her auntie, but she was settling down as Sarah was soothing Jordan. The preteen girl was also fretting for her aunt.

Looking up, Rick frowned in confusion as the Dixons were leading back Jenna as Jimmy followed behind them. Cuddled close to Jenna’s plush form was boy. He seemed to be roughly nine years old, thick black hair that puffed up into a minor afro, and skin quite a bit darker than Jenna’s slowly tanning skin. He was openly crying and chattering with the girl, obviously delighted to be near the odd girl. He turned to Sarah, watching as her gentle face fell in shock. She too then took off towards the girl.

“Cipriano!!!!!” she shrieked. The boy looked up and grinned as the oldest Redfern bolted towards him. Behind Rick, Cipriano Morales was confused.

“Why did she call me?” he asked. Rick was bouncing the fussy baby as Shane, T-Dog, Morales, and Morgan started to flock near Jenna. Andrea and Lori, were, unsurprisingly, not giving a damn and went about doing their own thing.

“I don’t think she was calling you,” Rick explained. Sarah then scooped up the dark-skinned boy and swung him, laughing as the child let out yelps of joy.

“Who was she calling, then?” before he could answer, Jenna and Sarah were motioning for the boy to sit down and eat. The boy was then handed some tea boiled eggs and a weak peach tea. Rick, still holding Janie, walked over.

“Who is this?” he asked. The boy looked up at Rick and seemed to be in awe.

“Oh, Wow. Rick Grimes! This is so cool! JANIE!!!!” The boy jumped up and quickly removed the toddler from his arms. The baby squealed with delight once she realized who was holding her. Jenna then decided to come over.

“Rick, this is my baby brother. Cipriano Roy Redfern. I call him Nanos.” Jenna was grinning, her forest colored eyes glistening with tears as she watched the shorter boy coo and cuddle with the youngest Redfern. Nanos, he was going to call him that in his head, then turned towards his older sister.

“Jenna! I wasn’t alone. I had help finding you. And now we have to help her.” Jenna was nodding, already getting geared up.

“Where is she? and Who is she?” Sarah asked before Jenna. Nanos gave his sisters a maniacal grin, a feature he has only seen on Jenna.

“Her name is Michonne. I save her baby.” That name must have meant something to the Redfern sisters since they both squealed with delight.

“Alright. Big Tiny and Merle. You’re with me. Nanos, rest. Rick and Sarah are in charge. If you want to help, try to teach Carl some of the tricks our daddy taught us. We have another Cipriano in our group, he is about your age.” Rick glanced over at their Cipriano, the young boy curious to meet the other Cipriano. Nanos waved at him.

“We’ll figure out something.” Jenna then turned to Rick.

“I’ll be right back. Should be no more than by nightfall. Have Shane and T-dog finish the ditch for the day and go in to rest. Axel and Oscar will take over while they rest. Morales and Otis, keep an eye on the roast. Daryl and Amy. I want to you start clearing out some of the hallways of the dead walkers. Burn them. Andrea will help, but she is not to have a gun. She still hasn’t apologized. Jimmy is still recovering, so I want him to help out Carol and my sister with the kids for now. Beth and Maggie, keep tending to the livestock. Everyone else will be fine with what they are doing.” Jenna’s soft lilting voice was rich with authority. Rick smiled, so this is what Sarah meant about her being a Little General.

“I’ll keep things organized.” Jenna then paused, fretting her lip.

“When I get back, I have more information about Walkers to tell everyone. But we must go now.” Jenna then hugged her smaller brother and older sister, even surprising Daryl with a kiss on his stubbly cheek, bring up a rich blush on the brash man’s cheek. His jerk of a brother was cackling at his brother’s embarrassment.

“Fuck you, Merle!” Daryl growled out. He turned his back on his brother, bristling with attitude. Jenna smiled at the man. Daryl’s roughened face softened towards the girl.

“Be careful,” he whispered in a low tone. Jenna smiled at him.

“I will be.” She gave him another kiss, this one seemingly a bit more intimate that Rick, and apparently Jenna’s siblings, felt like voyeurs.

After a few more minutes gathering some emergency supplies, Jenna, Merle, and Big Tiny were on horseback, heading out to find this woman.

~~~…

Sarah stood next to Daryl as they watched Jenna’s shadow slip into the woodlands.

“…So how long did you start to fancy my baby sister?” Sarah, although mellower than her hot-headed siblings, did not pull her verbal punches just like them. Daryl flinched, shocked.

“I uh…” he trailed. Sarah smiled.

“I’m not upset. She is technically 25, so I’m not worried about age differences. Besides, she is of consenting age, and she trusts you. I’m not worried she’ll hurt you. But take note of this: if you do hurt my sister in any shape or form…She is not the only one who knows how to hide a body.” Sarah’s soft demeanor faded into something…sinister, as she warned Daryl. Daryl nodded frantically.

“I won’t hurt her.” he gulped. Sarah’s gentleness returned.

“Good.” She said no more and walked away. And Daryl felt relieved and fearful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Mockingjay whistle and Negan's whistle


	21. Chapter 21

Everyone is infected. That’s what Jenna said two weeks ago when she came back after retrieving a pretty samurai named Michonne and her babbly baby. Lori was outraged when she was told and of course, took it out on Jenna. Mainly her face. Surprisingly, she didn’t try to fight back. But her sister did. Sarah, while sweet and gentle compared to her spitfire sister, threw Lori off her sister, and tried to go comfort her.

Andrea tried to attack Jenna as well, but her own sister, Amy, pushed her away. After that, Jenna took off somewhere in the prison, hiding. Lucky LS and Murphy were with her, so they knew she wasn’t alone.

Merle let out a sigh as he thought back on the announcement. Rick, Sarah, Daryl, Morgan, Dale, Duane, Jenna’s underage family members, and himself were the only ones who never faulted Jenna. Everyone else did though, to his knowledge. But two weeks have gone by, and Jenna was still somewhere hiding in the prison. They know she was alive, thankfully. The damn bison was still being brushed regularly and the beast only lets Jenna near it. Same with the ram and Oakley.

“Merle?” looking down, Merle locked eyes with the scowling boy known as Cipriano Roy. Roy, as he was making everyone call him, was gnawing on one of his knuckles.

“What is it?” he asked. He never did know why Jenna and her family took to him and Daryl. Roy bit onto a loose piece of skin and nipped it off.

“The group wants to hold a vote about something. They need you. Everyone under the age of fourteen has to stay quiet if we want to hear. They’re waiting for you.” Merle sighed and stood up from where he was sitting.

“What do they want to vote about?” he asked. Roy shrugged.

“No clue.” Merle huffed but he followed the curly-haired boy.

~~~…

Rick was watching Sarah and Lori get into a screaming match as Andrea and Amy got into their own. Hershel, Morgan, and Otis were also arguing amongst themselves as Morales and his wife fought with Jacqui and T-Dog. The prisoners were silent and glowering as the Greene sisters. Andrew, who was to remain locked up until further notice, was casually talking with Glenn. Daryl was pacing as he was staring down Shane. He got the feeling neither of them ever will become allies. Carol and Patricia were outside, tending to the now sprouting garden With Michonne. Jimmy and Beth were in the midst of a quieter argument, but still fighting. Maggie was on watch, so she was absent.

“What the hell is going on here?” Merle asked as he walked in. Behind him, Roy took off and huddled in a cell with the other Cipriano, Eliza, Sophia, and Duane. Rick stood and approached the older Dixon.

“We’re split in what everyone wants to do about Jenna,” Rick explained. He felt that the vile word he just spoke tasted like pus and ash.

“What the hell does that mean?!” Merle shouted, causing all the fighting to come to a stop. Daryl flipped off Shane and stormed over to his brother. Morgan pulled away from the Greene group to stand next to the Dixons. Sarah and Amy followed him. Even Jimmy pulled away from the Greene group, much to their surprise. Dale, Jacqui, Big Tiny, and surprisingly Miranda went to their side. Morales was shocked at his wife’s move. Everyone else stayed on the other side of the room. Rick was staring down his friend and ex-wife.

“Enough!!!” the group jumped at the loudness Sarah shouted over the room. The softer woman was breathing hard. Rick went to give her comfort. Lori was starting to scream again.

“I SAID ENOUGH!!” Sarah shouted back. She was very pissed off, Rick noticed. Is it wrong he found it kind of hot?

“How dare you?” she whispered. Her voice was soft again, but it was brittle like shredded glass. Shane apparently was the only one ballsy enough to confront a Redfern sister.

“How dare we? Your fucking sister was the one holding secrets about the damn infection! What else is that little witch and you damn aliens hiding from us?” Shane snarled. Sarah was shaking with how pissed she was.

“If it wasn’t for us, you would have gone insane with jealousy at Rick and tried to kill him!” Shane took a step back. Even though he knew that bit from Jenna already, it still hurt being thrown in his face. Lori stepped up and got in Sarah’s face.

“We were fine until your little bitch of a sister showed up!” she screeched. Sarah snarled at the skinnier woman.

“Hey! If it were for Jenna, I would have been worse off!” Rick rationalized.

“Jenna saved my life! It may have cost me a hand, but I’m still here, aren’t I?” Jimmy piped up. After him, many of the pro-Jenna group gave their opinions on the oddball girl.

After another round of yelling, Rick took out his gun and shot off three rounds, scaring the shit out of some and making the rest shut up. Reholstering his pistol, He moved to stand between the two groups.

“Listen, Jenna kept this knowledge a secret, but she still told us. Nothing has really changed. But we know now. We can take the steps to ensure our dead stay dead. Meanwhile, has anyone ever thought that she never told because not everyone here is kind to her? Why the hell should she tell anyone if every time she says something no one likes, they attack her? I will say this: if you intend to throw out Jenna, I’m going with her. And I’m taking Carl.” Lori and Shane made a conniption at the remark.

“Rick, you don’t have to do that.” Shane stammered. Lori was scowling.

“You aren’t taking my son.” she snarled. Rick snarled back.

“It’s thanks to Jenna I knew where to find you. It’s thanks to Jenna that I was prepared. It’s thanks to Jenna that our kids know how to handle a weapon now. It’s thanks to Jenna we all didn’t die several times over.” Rick stated. Morgan stepped up.

“It’s thanks to Jenna I was able to properly mourn for my wife It’s thanks to her my son is still alive. I’ll follow her too.” Jimmy stepped up.

“Me too.” Amy glared at her sister.

“I will follow her too.” Miranda glared at her son.

“I will too. She saved our kids. You know that.” Jacqui and Big Tiny nodded as well. Dale was very rigid for the girl. Rick stared down the group. There was a moment of timid silence…and Andrea screeched at her sister and the fight was back on.

~~~…

She forgot how, but Jenna was sitting on a corner of the prison roof, a tarp, and a nest of rags being her comforts. Murphy was getting bigger, the tadpole looking puppy starting the bulk up, looking more like a hellhound than a Chupacabra. Oh well, she loved him anyway. Lucky LS, the perky little bird, was currently sitting on Murphy’s back. The puppy was enjoying it. Jenna smiled as the ugly puppy started to buck like a disgruntled mustang, his bizarrely fluffy tail wriggling away.

Murphy, finally rid of the odd chicken, lumbered up to sit next to Jenna.

“It’s been two weeks. No one even tried to find me. I guess I mean less than I thought.” Jenna whispered to the loyal puppy. Murphy made an “aroo” sound and pawed at her chest to play. Jenna smiled and took out a large stone. She tossed it lightly like a ball, the puppy bouncing after the rock. Very early in the morning, Jenna snuck out of her hiding place to gather some slightly overripe peaches to eat and some dried rabbit. She shared her bounty with Murphy.

Three days ago, her period started, so Jenna snuck down again to grab thick towels and cotton gauze from the infirmary. She grabbed enough for her and for the other girls. Even if they were pissed at her, she still left the women supplies for their own cycles. Murphy wanted to gnaw on her used towels, to her disgust. The smell of her fertile blood did draw a few hidden walkers onto the roof. But she quickly dispatched them, using their corpses to mask her rich smell. It seemed to work. But since she bled through on some of her clothes, she made a wrap skirt with some steer hide after shedding her soiled jeans. She got some blood on her shirt too and wore the poncho Daryl made for her instead. It made her giggle a bit. How did any female manage their menstrual cycle in the apocalypse?

Ignoring the cramping twinges below her navel, Jenna kept tossing the rock for Murphy.

“…Jenna?” at the voice, Jenna jumped and turned around, raising her bow, and aiming it at the person who snuck up on her. Daryl stepped into the brightness of the autumn sun, making Jenna relax from her hostile stance.

“Daryl. What are doing here?” she asked. Daryl’s eyes were soft as he approached Jenna. His eyes glanced on the bloody towels in a neat pile on the top of her tarp roof. His soft eyes went rigid with worry.

“Shit, are you hurt? I need to get you to Morgan or Hershel.” he was panicking, making Jenna laugh a bit. Daryl scowled at her laughter.

“What’s so funny? All that blood means you have a serious injury. You need help!” he growled. Jenna felt no fear of his hostility. She paused her chuckling.

“Yes, it’s my blood. But I’m not hurt or injured in any way. This is a common thing for me.” she stated. After a few silent and testy minutes, Daryl’s eyes widen with knowledge. He then blushed. He tucked his rough hands into his pockets, shuffling on his feet, embarrassed beyond hell.

“Oh. I uh… I’m sorry for panicking. Do you need anything to help you with your…womanly issues?” he asked. Jenna smiled.

“It’s okay to say ‘period.’ I got my period, and yes. It sucks. But at least it means I’m not malnourished. As for needing anything, I’m okay for now. I’m a lucky one. My period is only four days long. This is my last day.” Daryl was still blushing, but he was relaxing from his fretting behavior.

“I’m guessing it was you who left all that gauze and towels for everyone?” he asked, taking a seat under the tarp. Jenna sat next to him. The slit of her skirt flashed her cream-colored thighs.

“Just because they are pissed at me, doesn’t mean I still won’t help them. What are you doing here? How did you find me?” Daryl snorted and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He slipped one into his mouth and lit it. The smell of the bitterness of burning tobacco brought some sort of comfort to the girl.

“It wasn’t easy, I can tell you that much. I can track a butterfly through a hurricane, but you are hard to find when you don’t want to be found,” he stated.

“Coming from you, I’ll take that as a compliment.” she chirped back. Daryl laughed slightly. He leaned back, basking under the artificial shade Jenna created. Jenna leaned back too, the poncho bunching up a bit under her belly, showing off her soft pouch of flesh that protected her inner workings. She was resting on her elbows taking deep, calming breaths.

“I guess it is. The group is torn on what to do with you.” He admitted. Jenna sighed again and then laid fully on her back, rest on arm under her head and the other on her stomach.

“I figured as much. Let me guess: Lori says I should leave?” She stated, closing her eyes. She heard Daryl snort.

“And Andrea, Shane, Glenn and the Greene group minus Jimmy,” Daryl replied, his voice dry. She heard him take another puff from the cigarette. Jenna made a humming sound.

“I’m guessing there are more,” she stated again.

“Yes. Merle and I are on your side if it helps.” Jenna smiled at the remark.

“I can’t change their minds. But I ain’t leaving. At least, not yet.” Jenna curled onto her side, silently grimacing at the contractions of her uterus. She hated being a female because of this. Grumbling, Jenna tried to get comfortable.

After a few minutes of peaceful silence, Jenna felt Daryl move. Opening her eyes, she fought back a happy squeal as the rough redneck was laying down next to her, his eyes closed as well.

“I would have figured you would be on your stomach.” she quipped. Daryl’s lips twisted into a snarky smirk.

“What makes you say that?” he asked. Jen chuckled.

“Well, for starters, I know that you have some deep scars on your back. Sometimes pressure on them hurts,” she replied.

“You know from first-hand experience?” he asked.

“I do. But since I’m 16 again, the scars that gave me the knowledge were never made.” She replied once more. Daryl grunted and finished off his cigarette. He crushed the butt under his palm, ignoring the embers that burned still.

“I guess there is some good being sent into another dimension,” he stated. Jenna made another humming sound. She scooted closer to Daryl, somewhat reveling in his protective presence. She let out a soft squeak as Daryl wrapped an arm around her smaller body.

“I’m not used to relationships.” he started. Jenna felt her heartbeat pick up.

“I ain’t either,” she replied.

“I’m older than you, mentally and physically,” he stated.

“Does it matter now?” she asked. Daryl scoffed with a bit of humor.

“I guess not. I don’t have a lot of…experience,” he revealed. Jenna smiled and curled closer to Daryl’s side.

“Are we counting consensual or…” she stated. Daryl made a growling sound, but she knew it wasn’t at her.

“Consensual,” he replied.

“Then me neither.” Daryl turned to look at Jenna. His icy blue eyes were as warm as the autumn noon sky. Jenna smiled, her body was feeling very warm, but from emotion, not elements.

“I have a temper, I wouldn’t want to hurt you.” he tossed out.

“So do I. I wouldn’t want to hurt you either. We can work on our tempers.” she countered. Daryl lifted Jenna’s face. He leaned into her space.

“I… I will try my best to be a good man.” he offered. Jenna smiled and leaned in a bit more. Her breath hitched as she gently took in the somehow clean scent of Daryl’s breath.

“I know you are a good man. I’ll try my best to be a good woman.” She held her breath as Daryl took that as confirmation and finally placed his soft lips against her plump ones. And for once, she wasn’t repulsed by being touched by a man. She kissed him back.


	22. Chapter 22

Night came, and so did the crispness of the evening. Jenna was standing next to the ledge, her fingers to her lips. She was smiling. It was a strange feeling on her face, the muscles pulling into an unfamiliar shape. Yes, she smiled her maniacal grin, but it was very rarely she ever smiled for herself.

Lucky LS went to her little perch she claimed; a corner of her tarp tent. Murphy was sleeping sprawled out on his back, snoring away. And Daryl…he was asleep under her tarp tent. He admitted he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep since she went AWOL. He did go down a bit to tell everyone he found her, but that’s all. He came back with freshwater and clean clothes for her and her companions.

Now dressed in clean clothes, Jenna kept a watchful eye on the slumbering livestock. She can spot Oakley’s strawberry coat getting cozy with a stallion they brought along. She saw some of the walkers going around the fence, smiling as her idea on making a barrier with the corpses work to bumper off walkers, thus keeping the fence from lacking in strength. Glancing over the courtyard, she began to sing.

“ _Where the North wind meets the sea_  
 _There's a river full of memory_  
 _Sleep, my darling, safe and sound_  
 _For in this river, all is found_

_In her waters, deep and true_   
_Lie the answers and a path for you_   
_Dive down deep into her sound_   
_But not too far or you'll be drowned_

_Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear_   
_And in her song, all magic flows_   
_But can you brave what you most fear?_   
_Can you face what the river knows?_

_Where the North wind meets the sea_  
 _There's a mother full of memory_  
 _Come, my darling, homeward bound_  
 _When all is lost, then all is found…_ ”

Jenna looked up towards the sliver of moon, basking in the nighttime light. The nip of approaching fall rustled the leaves of the nearby tree.

“That was a pretty song.” She turned, smiling as Daryl stretched and moved over to stand next to her. Jenna leaned onto his side, content.

“It’s just a song from my world. Seemed like a good thing to sing right now.”

“Still. It was pretty.” Daryl was smiling at Jenna. Jenna blushed.

“I thought you were going to sleep a bit longer?” she asked.

“I think the power nap helped. What are you going to do now?” Daryl asked. Jenna shrugged and began to sway to some hallucinogenic music only she could hear.

“What are you doing?” he asked. Jenna paused in her swaying to smile at the older man.

“I’m fighting.”

“Fighting what?”

“Inner turmoil. Angry thoughts. My uncle, the one I considered my father, taught me to ‘tether’ myself in place if I am feeling a bout of irrational moodiness. One of my little brothers did something similar. Some doctors called it ‘stimming.’ It’s a motion the alleviates sensory overload or pent up energy. The way I do it, I use it as a form of meditation. Thinking about going back to the group, their judgmental glares…it got me pent up. So by swaying, I’m redirecting the energy in a safe, calming way.” Daryl continued to watch her sway and move in slow, fluid circles on the roof. To him, it looked like a relaxing wind down of a dance.

As Jenna continued her swaying, Daryl stared over the livestock. He noticed one of the steers had a limp. He noticed it earlier that day but thought nothing of it. Jenna stopped her swaying and came back to stand next to him.

“Energy spent now?” he asked, still watching the steer as it stumbled and laid down on the grass.

“In a way. I noticed that steer was injured too.”

“What do you suggest?” Jenna squinted as she tried to strain her eyes to examine the cow from so far up and away. She hissed through her teeth.

“I think it might just be a sprain. But Hershel is the vet, he might know better.”

“Hershel is a vet? Like a veteran or fucking Doctor Dolittle?” Daryl asked. And Jenna winced.

“It technically wasn’t my secret to announce, but still… Hershel is an animal doctor. I trust him to know what he is doing.” Jenna stated. Daryl took a deep breath.

“Okay. I’ll take your word for it. But why did you hide the fact he was a vet?” he had to ask. Jenna rolled her eyes and smiled.

“What do you think Lori, Andrea, and Shane would do?” she asked.

“Fair enough.” She stretched her back muscles again, squeaking as the burn of acid in her muscles help her to relax.

“I’m getting a bit sleepy now. Do you mind if a crash for a bit?” she asked.

“My turn to keep watch I guess.” Jenna smiled and stood on her tiptoes to give the man a kiss. Daryl happily kissed her back.

~~~…

Jordan, Sophia, and Eliza sat in a small circle in the grass, quietly braiding thin strips of hide into useable twine. Jordan was the oldest, so the other two girls looked to her for guidance.

“How did you know how to braid like this?” Eliza asked. Jordan had to teach her to redo her braids a few times. The ten-year-old was starting to get the hang of it.

“Jenna taught me. At first, she used dried jute, but then started to use deer hide so it wouldn’t hurt any of my grandpa’s puppies when they were teething,” she stated. Sophia finished her long braid and started on another.

“It’s a good thing Mister Daryl convinced the group to let Jenna stay,” she stated. Jordan made a soft huff.

“Not really a conviction if more than half the group would leave with her. My aunt is a great lady, and my mom knows that. Merle knows that. Even Mrs. Morales knew. It wasn’t really a fight to begin with.” Jordan growled. Eliza nodded, acting a bit like her mother when she agreed with something the other ladies remarked on.

“I think my mommy would have followed you guys.” she quipped.

“Mine too,” Sophia replied. All three girls then looked up long enough to see Cipriano and Roy get chased by a temperamental rooster through the courtyard. The girls and the surrounding adults all laughed.

When Daryl came back and said he found Jenna, he kind of chewed them out. He even called out Andrea and Lori for being a bitch towards the girl for no reason except jealousy. Sarah eventually told them that Jenna didn’t have to share every bit of information with them. But she did anyway because she is a good person. Hershel’s group was the first to cave, Hershel being the first to cave out of the group. Everyone else fell in place afterward.

Eliza finished her braiding, wincing as she flexed her stubby fingers. Jordan gave her a pitying smile.

“It hurts the first time. But my aunty is more hardcore. She found a way to braid barbed wire!” Jordan boasted. Sophia and Eliza were impressed. Jordan turned to look at the doorway, smiling wide as Jenna hopped out of the shadowed doorway. Lucky LS was settled on the ground, the damned bird scurrying off after a butterfly. Murphy was running around Jenna and Daryl, yapping away as he nipped the air. Jordan saw her aunt make a crazy looking grin and take in a deep breath. She then let out a loud, harmonious four-note vocalization. Nearby, Janie squealed happily and was already toddling over to her aunty.

“Jenna!” several voices called out. Many of the group went over to greet Jenna, happy to see the girl again. Roy, free from the mad rooster, ran over and clung to the older girl. Jenna’s wild eyes softened as her brother cried into her chest.

“So…What happened when I was gone?” Jenna joked, trying to lighten the mood. Carl and Duane came over to chatter with the girl. Jordan noticed something that none of the adults noticed: Daryl was looking at her aunt differently. It was kind of the way her grandma would look at her grandpa. Love, adoration, fear. Her eyes widen. Daryl was in love with her aunt.

~~~…

Hershel let out a sigh as he examined the injured beef cow. He looked at Jenna.

“It’s a break. Must have slipped getting water from the ditch and broke his ankle joint sometime in the night. And we don’t have the resources for him to recover.” Jenna hissed.

“And without those resources, it’s a death sentence. Fuck.” she grumbled. Hershel stood straight up. Jenna removed her foot tether from the cow, stepping away quickly to avoid getting kicked. The cow mooed and struggled to stand up. He did eventually, but even Jenna and Hershel could tell it took a lot out of him.

“He was born sickled hocked, that’s why I had him castrated. He was set to become food anyway. But without a fridge, we have no way of keeping the meat fresh.” He turned and saw Jenna deep in thought.

“From the furrow in your brow, you have an idea?” he asked. Jenna flinched but nodded.

“I do. But it means we’ll need to do a run. But first, let’s get this steer out of the main herd.” Jenna began to lead the cripple bovine away, easing him into a nearby gate. The cow lumbered in and laid down. She hissed. He was in a lot of pain, now that she was more aware.

Leaving the cow, Jenna followed Hershel back to the main chunk of the group. Otis and Jimmy were the first to greet them. Sarah and the girls moved closer. SO did everyone else. T-Dog, Oscar, and Morales were on watch, but they will be informed later. Daryl and Merle went out looking for wild plants to eat. The group had plenty of meat.

“Okay. The steer is crippled, and we can’t save him.” Jenna stated, blunt and to the point. Eliza and her brother whined.

“Can you save him?” they asked. Jenna shook her head.

“NO, we can’t. The kindest thing to do is the slaughter him.” Eliza and Cipriano made a wail at the word. Jenna sunk down to her knees, keeping eye level with the two city kids.

“Hey now. I know slaughtering an animal is not pleasant. But if we don’t, he will be in more pain and injure himself more. He is hurting, and we don’t want him to suffer. He isn’t going to be killed today because I need to make a run.” the group made a few murmurs of confusion. Jenna stood back up.

“We don’t have a way of storing our meat. But I know how to make something that can make it last for a bit. But I need supplies. And I need volunteers for the trip.” she remarked. The group still wasn’t trusting her, she knew because almost everyone took a step backward. She sighed.

“If no one wants to help me, fine. It’s not like I want to be here with you ungrateful ass monkeys. I ain’t asking my sister because she cannot leave Jordan and Janie yet. I’m only asking for someone to drive the damn car!” Jenna shouted.

“Why can’t you drive the car?” Andrea sneered. Amy glared at her sister as the older blonde was being unjustly cruel to Jenna, again.

“I can’t reach the fucking pedals. I’m too short.” Jenna scowled back, crossing her arms in a pout. Several of the more leggier women made tittering sounds at her displeasure.

“Haha. Can one of you help me or not?” she asked again. Jacqui stepped forward.

“I’ll help. And I think we can let Andrew help too. It seems that he was dependent on Tomas because the prick was getting him high.” Jenna scrunched up her face at that.

“Okay. We need at least one more person to help. The supplies I need are kinda big and heavy, and since the soon to be three of us are kind of shrimpy…we need muscle.” she replied. She scanned the group, using her eyes to ask instead of her words.

“I’ll go with you.” Jenna turned to see who spoke, and her heart almost broke. Otis stepped forward, much to Patricia’s displeasure.

“Otis…” The large man smiled at the younger girl.

“I haven’t been kind. Hell, none of us have been kind. I’d like to change that.” Not knowing what else to say, Jenna nodded.

“We’ll leave in an hour,” she stated. Jenna turned to go gather supplies for the run. But, why did she feel like something is going to go wrong?


	23. Chapter 23

Jenna was riding in the back of the truck they took, which ended up being Daryl’s. Andrew and Jacqui rode in the cab while Otis rested in the back with her. The group rode in silence, Jacqui and Andrew occasionally talking about the plan Jenna proposed.

The older man watched as Jenna picked at the exposed skin of her wrist. Some of the plucked skin was turning a bit chafed from her blunt nails.

“Everything alright?” he asked after watching her work a sore on her skin. Jenna stopped her picking. She took a deep breath and let it out.

“I’m not really sure. I have a bit of a bad feeling. It’s making me nervous.” she replied. Otis leaned forward a bit, his bulk appearing soft as he was ready to listen.

“We got time until we find a hardware store. You can tell me.” Jenna sighed again.

“I…I get certain feelings about stuff. I can, like, sense when something very bad is going to happen. The antsier I get, the worse it is. Today’s feeling…it’s very bad. I don’t think everyone is going to go home today. We might lose someone.” She whispered. The chuttering of the truck filled the daylight. Otis looked up to see that Jacqui and Andrew heard her.

“So, you can actually tell the future? Not just from being from a different world?” Otis asked. He was bit curious and impressed. Jenna winced. Apparently she knew what she sounded like to the older members of the scavenging party.

“Yeah, I know that sounds wonky, but I don’t know how else to explain these sensations. I got worked up one time and had to reach out to many of my family members I can. turns’ out my cousin overdosed on his mother’s couch. If I didn’t have the feeling, he would have been dead in the morning.” she admitted. Otis hissed through his teeth.

“Damn. And you’re afraid that one of us is going to die,” he stated. Jenna nodded.

“I’ve seen all three of you die,” she stated. Since Andrew was driving, he pulled the truck over to the side of the road. In the distance, there was a small town. That was their destination. The skinny black man turned around in the truck’s cab.

“You’ve seen us die? How? How did we die? Are you psychic? A witch?” the ex-prisoner demanded. Jenna let out a soft whimper.

“Please, don’t ask. Every time I mention what I know or see, I end up hurt. Mostly physically. I’m tired of it.” she whispered, covering her head out of instinct. Andrew nodded.

“I won’t ask again. But we’ll be okay,” he stated. He turned around and restarted the truck. The group began to move once more. Jacqui reached out to try and comfort the girl. She wasn’t wrong.

~~~…

Alice Redfern was scowling as the dumb ass who called himself Philip Blake tried to consul his crying daughter. The little brat almost got them killed a few times with her crying. She scoffed as the girl’s cries slowed down to a whimper. Her new partner, Will, was scowling at the brat as well.

“My daughter would have learned by now to be silent. Learn to control your brat. Or I ain’t helping your worthless ass again.” she snarled. Philip flinched and held the teeny blonde closer to his chest.

“She’s hungry. We haven’t found a steady group or food supply yet. Please, just be patient.” Philip asked. Alice scoffed again. She never liked little girls. Always crying. Except for her own daughter, who knew when to stay silent. The ungrateful bitch.

Philip finally got his brat to shut up.

“Hurry up. There’s a hardware store down the road. We can find some shit to make snares. Maybe then your brat can be quiet longer. It’s bad enough I’m in this shit hole with a loser and his whiny crotch goblin.” she muttered. From the corner of her dark eyes, she smirked as the man flinched from her calloused tone. Will shook his head at the all too gentle man and his bitch kid. He walked ahead towards the hardware store.

Alice hated she was in fucking Georgia, of all places. When she finally killed her family, she was going to greet them in hell. Instead, she’s here. None of her family, and goddamn zombies instead of trying to eat her. She wandered for a few months, using her charm to rob survivors. She found Philip and his daughter about to be killed by a pack of the undead. Why she saved him, she has yet figured it out.

She met Will after saving the dipshit Blake. He saved her, in fact. Will had an impeccable aim and killed a zombie that was sneaking up on her. She paid him back by giving him one hell of a night to remember. After a few weeks of knocking boots, they decided to look for their ungrateful spawns together.

Now that the Blakes were calmer, she hurried them along to the hardware store. Reaching the dusty glass doors, Alice smiled as Will found stale tobacco by a pile of discarded fishing lures lacking hooks. Philip and his brat moved towards the back for wire and stakes. His brat found a stiff, stuffed squirrel to play with.

“Don’t grab anything useless, you brat.” she snapped at the girl. The child flinched and set the squirrel back on the shelf. She ran to her father. Will chuckled.

“I never liked kids. Surprise you haven’t trashed the shit out of her yet.” Will sneered. Alice loved the man.

“If she was mine, I would have,” She replied. Alice then found a few more packets of cigarettes and stuffed them down her boobs.

The group dug around for more supplies but paused as the stuttering of a truck pulled up in front. They dove behind a counter, not even bothering to see if Philip and his brat did the same.

“So Jenna, What’s the plan again?” a woman asked, her voice a soft alto. And Alice heard her.

“We go in, grab a few shovels, sandbags, and a deep freezer. We also need wire and long bamboo poles. Let’s see if we can find stuff for the kids to play with, like toys. maybe we can find a roll of butcher paper.” Alice’s eyes grew cold. She knew that scratchy voice.

“Will, let’s leave through the back,” she demanded.

“What about Blake and his brat?”

“Leave them.” her lover nodded, and both slipped through the aisles, leaving behind the Blakes.

~~~…

Jenna scowled in confusion as she noticed two robust figures run down the road.

“Should we go after them?” Andrew asked. He was armed with a heavy plumbing wrench. Jenna watched as the feminine figure stopped slightly and turned to look at them. Jenna squinted her eyes. She frowned. She seemed a bit...familiar.

“…No. It’s not worth the risk.” She turned back to the store.

“Remember your jobs?” she asked. Jacqui nodded.

“I am to grab the shovels, wire, and bamboo poles. Otis and Andrew are to grab the sandbags and freezer, and you are to gather the rest.” Jacqui repeated Jenna nodded.

“Okay. If you see anything that is helpful in the future, grab that too.” The four then slipped through the aisles.

Jenna found some stuffed toys that mimic birds and their calls. Grabbing a basket, she filled the thing with several of the stuffed birds and a few stuffed wolves, squirrels, and snakes. She smiled at the snakes, gently playing with a googly-eyed coral snake. Behind her, the sound of a bell rang. She turned, knowing it wasn’t a walker. She wasn’t expecting a girl. Putting the basket down, Jenna knelt to be level with the girl.

“Hello. Are you alone? Where is your mama or daddy?” she asked, keeping her voice soft and low. The girl was eyeing one of the stuffed squirrels. Jenna picked it up and handed it to the girl. The girl smiled and held it. Her stomach let out a gurgle.

“Jenna!” Jacqui shouted out. Standing up, Jenna gently moved the girl behind her. A tall man with dark hair came barreling out, raising a crowbar to swing at her. Jenna raised her poker and parried it.

“Daddy!” the girl shrieked. The man then dropped the crowbar, realizing his would-be victim was trying to protect the girl. He let out a sob and fell to his knees to offer his arms to the child.

“Penny. Don’t wander off like that.” he sobbed. Penny hugged her father. Her stomach gurgled again. Jenna was digging in her pocket, smiling as she pulled out some hardtack. She handed it to the child.

“You must be hungry. Eat up.” The girl grabbed the stiff biscuit and happily nibbled on it. Her father was handed another and he nibbled on his. Jenna’s eyes finally adjusted to the dimness and she let out a surprised gasp.

“Whoa. Philip Blake?” the man looked up at her, confused.

“How do you know my name?” he asked Jenna clamped her mouth shut. She gnawed on her thumb a bit. This wasn’t the power-mad Governor, but a worried father. This could a be a good thing for her. Did he go mad when he lost his daughter, or when he found Woodbury? Andrew and Otis came running up, worried for their youngest member. Jacqui was right behind them.

“I’m okay, guys. Everyone, this is Philip Blake.” Philip stood, finishing his biscuit and waved at the group.

“Hi.”

The Blake’s ended up helping them find their supplies. They couldn’t find a large freezer, but they did find a mini one and several large planters. Jenna made them grab some slightly smaller ones as well. Philip helped Otis lift the supplies into the back of the truck as Jenna kept Penny close to her side. Andrew and Jacqui already loaded up their share.

Picking up a roll of butcher paper, with Penny picking up a tinier roll, Jenna slid the paper into the truck. All the supplies were loaded up and ready to go. Andrew tried to turn on the truck, but it wouldn’t turn over.

“Damn. The truck’s dead. We need to find a new battery.” he mentioned. The group groaned. Jenna gnawed on her thumb again.

“…Okay. I saw a hardware store down the road, I can go and grab one really easily,” she stated. Penny whimpered and clung harder to Jenna. Philip chuckled.

“I can go grab one. It’s the least I can do for helping us since our companions left us.” Otis also stepped forward.

“I’ll come too. We can grab some more supplies too. Andrew, want to come help?” Andrew nodded.

“I want to earn my keep. But will the girls be okay?” he asked. Jenna waved the men off.

“We’ll be fine. Go on. Maybe we should hit up that pharmacy. Grab some stuff.” The men walked off, confidant in the girls.

~~~…

Andrew, Philip, and Otis walked in silence.

“Who were your companions?” Andrew asked. Philip growled.

“A cruel man and an equally cruel woman. Named Alice and Will. They always seemed pissed off at us, especially my Penny. Alice saved my life, so I did whatever she wanted. She ended up getting saved by Will, and those two got cozy. Per the agreement, they ate and drank first, usually leaving dregs for Penny and I. I always gave Penny my share, but she is young and needs more food. We were starving. We ran out of food a few days ago. Penny cries when she is very hungry. That seemed to piss off Will and Alice. We found the hardware store and were looking for stuff to make snares and traps. Next thing we know, they left us. And you guys found us.” Otis also growled.

“That was just wrong. Well, Luckily Jenna is a great person and said you should come with us. She knows things.” Otis chimed in. Andrew stopped first.

“We’re here.” The door was open, and there were no walkers. Slipping inside, the three men scanned the area for supplies. Philip found the batteries first. He grabbed one and Andrew grabbed another. Otis found some stickers and magnets for the kids to play with.

“We should head on back.” Before they could leave, the shuffling sounds of dozens of limping feet reached them. A walker snarled as it saw them.

“Run,” Otis shouted. The three men ran, Otis huffing as he started to lag behind. Andrew fell back to help. But Otis tripped, the snapping of brittle bones making him scream as his ankle broke. Andrew tried to help him up, but the walkers were getting closer. Philip tried to help.

“Go! You got a little girl to worry about!” Andrew yelled. He then screamed as several walkers then tore into the two men. Philip ran.

He saw Jenna, Jacqui, and his beloved daughter rearranging the supplies.

“Rotters! A whole herd!” Jenna jumped up.

“Where are Andrew and Otis?” he shook his head. Jenna fought back a cry. With the hood of the truck still up, Philip tried his best to change the batteries. Jacqui had a gun, so she was shooting some of the closer walkers. Philip was fumbling, but he couldn’t get the batteries switched. Penny was whimpering, scared. Philip looked at his frightened daughter. He knew what he had to do.

“Run back into the store, There’s a closet. Go!” he then turned to the walkers and charged. Penny cried as she saw one walker reach for him. Jacqui nudged the two younger girls.

“go. We cannot have him die for nothing!” the three then ran inside and found the closet. Jenna pushed Penny in first. But the closet was small. Too small. Jacqui was fretting.

“I’ll lead them away.” she then shoved a startled Jenna inside, making her yelp. Jacqui then ran out of the store and began to use the butt of her gun to kill walkers.

Jenna kept Penny close, burying the girl’s screams and cried into her robust chest.

“Shh…We have to be quiet. I know, it’s scary. But please shh…” she whispered. Penny’s screams died down. Both remained silent as they heard the herd snarl and rasp.

~~~…

Daryl was pacing. He seemed to do that a lot, Rick noticed. Reminded him of an agitated timber wolf, or a pissy cougar. He could understand why he was pacing. Sarah stepped next to him. Her soft frame leaning into his.

“He’s waiting for Jenna?” she asked Rick nodded.

“Yeah. I think he likes her. But she is a bit young for him.” he stated. Sarah hummed.

“Hmm…Not really. Jenna is older than she looks. And she likes him too. As long as they are at least of a decent age and are consenting…does it matter?” she asked. Rick snorted.

“Merle said something similar.” he joked. Sarah turned to see Merle showing the kids how to set a rabbit snare. She smiled. Rick smiled too.

“Do you know why Jenna likes Merle so much? I could never figure it out.” Rick asked. Sarah chuckled into her hand.

“Merle reminds her of one of her older cousins. Jenna had this cousin, his name was John. He died of a cocaine overdose when she was 15, the first time she was 15. John acted as a kind of older brother to her, he protected her and loved her. He was a lot like Merle; crass, racist, a druggie. But he loved Jenna. He was rough, but like Merle, he never hurt her.” Rick smiled softly at the notion. He turned back to watch Daryl pause in his pacing. He walked up to the rougher man.

“Is everything alright?” he asked the redneck. Daryl squinted at the far road.

“My truck. It’s coming down the road. But I only see one person in it.” Rick felt a shiver of fear run down his spine. He turned back towards the group.

“Hey! Head’s up, something bad has happened.” Many of the adults came running over to the gate. T-Dog and Maggie were pulling the gate open, letting in the bloody and gore-splattered truck. Jacqui opened the door and stumbled out. She was covered in blood and heavy scratches. A small herd of walkers was snarling and growling at the gates, reaching their rotted fingers through the fence at the living folks.

“Walkers. A lot of walkers.” she gasped out. Collapsing on the ground, Jacqui began to cry. Rick knelt down to offer comfort.

“What happened?” he asked, voice soft, and tender, yet firm. Shane was rummaging through the truck. He took a step back and shook his head. Patricia and Hershel let out a gasp.

“The truck’s battery died. Jenna mentioned raiding a part store for a spare battery. Andrew, Otis, and this new guy who was going to join us went to get the part, but something must have happened. A herd of walkers took out the men, and Jenna was watching over the new guy’s little girl. I hid her and the child in a closet and tried to lead the herd away. I killed a few with my gun and ran over a lot with the truck. But…” Jacqui removed a corner of her shirt, revealing a pus-filled bit on her stomach.

“I was bit.” The group cried out in sorrow. Sarah ran over.

“Is my sister okay? please tell me Jenna is fine!!” she cried with panic. Jacqui nodded.

“She should be. Please, go get them.” Rick stood up straight.

“Shane, Daryl. You two are coming with me and getting back Jenna and any other survivors. Hershel, Morgan, make sure Jacqui is comfortable. Carol. Get a few cells ready to be filled. We don’t know who else was bit. Everyone else, be prepared.” Shane and Daryl nodded and went to retrieve their weapons. Rick motioned Jacqui towards Hershel and Morgan. Roy ran up to his older sister.

“Is Jenna okay?” he asked. The nine-year-old was edging into a panic attack. Sarah held the boy close to her side.

“I hope so.”

Daryl took the wheel of the truck as Shane and Rick hopped into the back of the truck. Rick shared a glance with a worried Sarah. Lori was holding Carl away from the Redferns, but even she was panicking. He turned back and nodded to Daryl.

“Let’s go.”


	24. Chapter 24

Penny was no longer whimpering. The small seven-year-old girl was clinging to Jenna’s lush frame. She finally fell asleep from crying. Jenna felt numb.

“It’s my fault. They are all dead.” She was repeated over and over under her breath. She didn’t know how long it’s been since Jacqui led the walkers away, but from the chill creeping up, it’s been several hours. Jenna felt her stomach pinch in hunger, but unlike the little girl sleeping next to her, she was used to it. Her throat was dry. She needed to find some water. She gave what little water she did have to Penny. She needed it more.

“Miss Jenna?” Oh, Penny was awake. Looking down, Jenna tried to put on a brave face for the girl.

“Yes, Penny? Did you need something?” she asked. Penny nodded.

“I have to pee,” she whispered. Jenna bit at the loose skin on her lips.

“...Fuck. Okay, hang on.” scanning the closet, Jenna kinda grinned as she saw a shard of a mirror. Picking it up as quietly and delicately as she could, Jenna went down on her belly. She slipped the shard under the gap of the door, using the dirty reflection to be her lookout. She saw nothing, heard nothing. Sliding the shard back, Jenna rose to her feet with a grunt. She turned to Penny.

“Stay here. I have a plan.” Penn nodded, and Jenna cracked open the door as quietly as possible. She slipped out and closed the door behind her.

There were a few deader than dead walkers gathering flies near to the front door. Jenna grimaced at the stink of sour rot from meat. She found a bandana and tied it around her face. The voluptuous girl then began to drag the body over to her hideout. Pulling out a hidden knife, she began to gut the walker. Since she had nothing to put over her, she began to lather her arms with gore, marking her cheeks, the pulse points on her neck, and running a bit through her hair.

“Penny, come on out now.” The door creaked open, making both girls stiffen. Penny looked down at the dead walker, crinkling her nose at the rot. She crinkled her nose even more at Jenna’s gory appearance.

“Ew,” she whispered. The small bit of disgust from the girl made the older one smile.

“I know sweetie. But you have to wear some too. We should be fine unless it rains.” Penny whined a bit, but she held her nose as Jenna smeared rot on her skinny arms and through her dirty blonde hair. To keep the girl entertained, she drew a smiley face with eh gore on the girl’s forehead.

“That should be good for now. Walk slow, like a walker. or stay close to me. Be very quiet.” Jenna raised her voice no louder than a whisper, but Penny heard, and she obeyed. Grabbing the older girl’s hand, Penny waited for Jenna to move.

“Where can I go to the potty?” she whispered, trying hard not to wriggle as she crossed her legs. Jenna looked at the farther corner of the hardware store.

“Follow me.” Jenna grabbed a bucket as she loped over to the back wall, picking up some dried out wet wipes as well. Penny was beginning to whimper with the need to pee.

Jenna sat the bucket down in a corner and handed the dried wipes to Penny.

“I’ll keep guard. Use the bucket for now.” Penny nodded and scurried over to relieve her teeny bladder. Jenna turned, her knife ready in case of danger. The pattering of pee hitting the bottom of the bucket was the only sound heard.

~~~…

With Jacqui cleaned and sent to her bed, Amy kept a watch over the doomed woman. She didn’t have a gun, but she did have a honing stick filed into a sharp point.

“Amy?” the young blonde turned to see what Jacqui needed. She was already sweating, her usual warm, dark face flushed and pallid with the illness.

“Do you need something, Jacqui? Some water?” Amy asked. Jacqui coughed.

“No, but is Jenna back? I want to tell her something.” she rasped. Amy bit her lip.

“Not yet. Rick, Shane, and Daryl went to get her. What did you want to tell her?” Amy asked. Jacqui coughed and tried to sit up a bit. She managed, but Amy could tell it affected her.

“It wasn’t her fault. Otis and Andrew’s death. It’s not on her. She warned us, and we still followed her. I offered to help her, my death…it’s on me.” Jacqui coughed again.

“Amy, can I get some water?”

“Sure.” Making sure the older woman was comfortable, Amy left.

She found Sarah with some sort of whisk thing in a jar, spinning the dull blade full of yellow/white cream. The usual sweetheart of a woman was wearing a worried scowl as she spun the whisk blades. By her feet, Andre and Janie were napping with Murphy.

“Stop hovering.” apparently, even upset, Sarah's orders were still motherly. Amy winced.

“Sorry… what are you making?” Amy asked, picking up a bottle of purified water. Sarah smiled.

“I’m making goat butter. It makes the hardtack I have taste a bit better. I normally would be baking a shit ton of cookies, but this helps. I stress bake.” Sarah continued to whisk the cream.

“Worried about your little sister?” Amy asked. Sarah nodded, setting down the jar and rotator whisk.

“I am. I can’t help it.” Amy looked over towards the courtyard. Andrea was too busy trying to sweet talk Merle into giving back her gun. The old redneck was avidly ignoring her, which seem to piss off the blonde.

“I wish my sister was like you.” Amy drily responded. Sarah gave the younger girl a soft smile.

“You say that now, but my mothering over Jenna and her siblings drove them mad.” Amy smiled again, her mood lightened.

“Do we have anything that Jacqui can nibble on? I know she has a walker bite, but she still would like something to eat.” Sarah nodded and went over to her blackened cooking pot. She filled a small tin cup with the skim of some broth of some stew she was making. She gave the broth over to Amy.

“She could drink a bit of this. One of the hens got too near the pigs and got her wing shredded. Hershel said to just butcher her, so tonight is a chicken stew with dandelion greens and chestnuts. Merle got a solar oven set up, so I can make some biscuits to go along with it.” Amy said her thanks and went to carry the light meal and drink back to Jacqui.

~~~…

Of course. The truck blew a tire just five miles from the town. Daryl was scowling at the blown rubber as Shane and Rick searched the very few cars nearby for a replacement.

“Fuck!” Daryl snarled. Impatient, he grabbed his bow and an extra gun and began to march. Shane ran to catch up with him.

“Whoa! Where are you going? We have to stay together!” the ex-cop ordered. Daryl turned on his heel with a snarl.

“Jenna is out there! Alone, possibly injured, and most definitely blaming herself for all this shit! I’m going.” He turned to begin his march.

“Daryl. Wait. We get it. Jenna needs help. But we ain’t gonna go far without a vehicle. And if we go on foot, we will have to hole up in town somewhere.” Rick countered. Daryl snarled again and turned to kick the daylights out of the blown tire.

“Fuck!”

~~~…

Jenna was doing a silent, little happy dance. She found a few funky tasting bottles of water, but hey, she ain’t complaining. And a pack of sunflower seeds. Although they were planting seeds…still food. A flashlight served as a light as Penny and Jenna retired back to their closet to eat the measly food. Penny ate the seeds as Jenna was using a honing stick to sharpen her knife.

“You want any?” Penny asked. Jenna grinned, ignoring the pinching in her belly.

“Nah. You need it more.”

“You ain’t much older than me!”

“Hey!” Penny giggled and ate some more seeds. Jenna took a small sip from the funky water.

Someone began to knock on the closet. Penny darted behind Jenna as she raised her knife, ready to fight.

“Penny? Jenna?” Both girls paused.

“…Philip?”

“Yeah…Don’t ask how I’m alive, because I don’t know either.” Jenna let out a laugh and opened the door. She pulled the large man into a hug.

“You’re alive, you’re alive…you’re missing an eye!” One-eyed Phil smiled at the two girls.

“Again, don’t ask how it went missing.” Jenna didn’t listen to anymore and pulled the guy into the closet. She began to tear off his shirt, frantic.

“How are you not bit? I saw you go down. I heard you scream! How did you lose an eye?!” she stammered. Philip smiled.

“No idea, No idea, No idea. Can you help me clean this out? This is kinda feeling a bit weird.” Philip asked. Jenna startled.

“Oh. Sure. Sit down. Apparently, this was a medical closet…why there was one in a hardware store, no idea. But hey, good for us.” Jenna not only found some bandages, but she also found an opaque empty jug. Attaching the flashlight to the jug, she smiled as the room was filled with a pale light.

“Daddy! What happened to your eye?” Penny yelped. Jenna leaned back in mild disgust.

“…That’s nasty.” Motioning for the tall man to sit, Jenna dabbed some peroxide on some gauze and began cleaning the empty socket. Philip hissed as the liquid dried out his wound. Jenna ignored him and continued to clean the socket. It was bleeding a bit, so Jenna found some liquid bandages. She added a few drops onto some of the larger cuts. Philip hissed again.

“Keep flinching and I’ll use the rubbing alcohol instead.” Jenna quipped.

“You are a sadistic little kid.” Jenna glared at the man.

“I’m older than I look. Hold still now. I’m going to cover your wound.” Jenna gently wrapped the wound with gauze lathered with a numbing antibiotic cream. Once finished, she sat back on her rump. Penny scurried over to cuddle with her miraculously alive father.

“Thank you,” Philip whispered as Penny tried to share her skimpy seeds. Jenna smiled.

“It needed to be clean. No problem,” she replied. Philip shook his head, groaning as he felt a bit woozy from blood loss.

“I meant for protecting my daughter. Penny is all I have, I would have I gone insane if she were gone.” Jenna didn’t comment on his remark. He was technically right.

Philip and Penny were asleep. That’s good. Jenna snuck out of the closet to try and find more supplies. He did find some powdered coconut, so stuffing that into a basket, she kept on looking. She still had some gore on her body, so she was still camouflaged from walkers. Jenna found more planting seeds. Tomatoes, corn, peas, sunflowers were the bulk of her seeds. She also found fennel, lemongrass, poppies, cooking sage, thyme, cilantro, and a surprising amount of wheat and oat seeds.

Jenna decided to take a break and sat down next to a stand of moldy dog biscuits. Hungry, she found the least moldy of the batch and nibbled on the crusty biscuit. The sun was starting to set, casting the small town into shadows. She gazed out of the dusty windows, watching as some soft yellow light flickered.

Wait.

She looked again. Those soft lights were headlights. She focused, listening as the chuffing of a truck started to creep closer. She stayed low as she pushed her basket of seeds back over to the closet. But the truck was starting to stop, and she didn’t dare risk opening the door. The shadows indicated that the new folks were three men, two of them burly in comparison to the third one.

“Okay, spread out. Jenna can’t be far!” It was Rick! She stood and moved closer to the exit.

~~~…

Daryl and Shane were moving towards the Hardware store Jacqui said she left their little prophet. Both stopped as a swaying figure was coming out of the store. Shane raised his gun.

“Wait! Don’t shoot me! It’s me, dumbass!” Daryl lurched forward and pulled Jenna into a firm hug. He buried his face in her thick, gore covered hair.

“Are you hurt?” he asked. Jenna shook her head.

“I’m alright. But I have someone injured with me. I treated his wounds the best I could, but we need to get him to Morgan.” Daryl nodded, but he didn’t let the girl go. Shane gave them an odd look but said nothing.

“Where is this injured guy?” Shane asked. Jenna squirmed her way out of Daryl’s arms and went back into the store. Rick was already looking through the basket of seeds Jenna gathered.

“You sure you’re okay?” the man asked. Jenna nodded.

“A bit shook up, but I’m unharmed. I covered myself with walker giblets to mask my scent, so I can gather stuff easier.” Jenna then stood in front of a closet.

“Philip. Penny. You can come out.” there was some shuffling from within the closet, and the door opened to show an overly cautious man with bandages around his eye, and a gore covered child.

“Jenna? Do you know these men?” Jenna nodded.

“They are good men. We have a base, and you can join us to recuperate. You are welcome to join us once you’re better.” Philip smiled.

Shane was driving this time. Daryl had Jenna in his arms in the back of the truck, Rick sitting nearby. Philip and Penny were riding in the front. They deserve some comfort.

“You sure you’re alright?” Daryl asked. Jenna nodded. She paused and shook her head.

“No. I’m not. Physically, I’m fine. But Otis and Andrew…they’re dead because of me. And I cannot cry for them. Not yet.” Daryl gave Jenna a soft kiss on her forehead, pulling her closer to his side. And Rick, he saw.

“So, you two are together,” he stated. Daryl flinched.

“…Yes. I love her.” Daryl replied. Rick looked towards Jenna, noting that she was already starting to fall asleep.

“I can see that. I think Sarah saw as well. When we get back, you have to tell everyone.” Rick stated once more. Daryl sighed.

“I know.” Rick didn’t say anymore, and soon the back of the truck was in silence, save for the soft puffs from Jenna’s breath.

The prison in sight, And Merle and Glenn opening the gates, the remainders of the scavenging group finally hope. Everyone finally relaxed. Sarah ran up and pulled Jenna into her bosom. Morgan and Hershel hurried over to get Philip inside. Penny decided to stick close to Jenna.

“You’re alive. You’re okay. Thank god.” Sarah whispered, petting Jenna’s gory head.

“How’s Jacqui?” Jenna asked. Amy went over then.

“She passed on. Twenty minutes ago. I made sure she didn’t come back.” Jenna’s face went blank, and she then began to enter the building. She ignored her family as she went to her perch, not even looking at Jacqui’s covered body in her cell. No one bothered her.


	25. Chapter 25

Three months passed since the group claimed the prison and Jacqui was buried. Morgan was giving Lori a checkup as Shane stood guard. Currently, the doctor was pressing a stethoscope to her belly, listening for the new heartbeat of the baby. He removed the device and shared a mild smile with the cranky pregnant woman.

“The baby is coming along nicely. Thanks to the vitamins Maggie and Glenn brought back from the last run, you aren’t malnourished. I check on you next week. Drink plenty of water and don’t stress yourself.” Lori smiled and waved Morgan farewell. Shane offered his arm for support. The two went towards Carl and Duane, the two boys trying to figure out some plant identifying, courtesy of Hershel.

“How is the baby?” he asked after a few minutes.

“She’s doing good, growing healthy.” Shane smiled. Lori has been spending more time with him, so he wasn’t deferred by her brashness. He placed a heavy palm on the growing swell of her belly. At an estimate of four months, she was nervous about the upcoming birth. Carl’s birth was rigorous.

“Just six more months and then we’ll see our baby girl…how did you know it’s a girl?” he asked. Lori smiled as she rubbed the bump of a fetus.

“I asked Jenna before we came here. and Asked her again a few days ago.” Shane beamed. He was going to have a daughter.

~~~…

When they buried Jacqui, Jenna found a plant to bury over Jacqui as a marker. A Cherokee rose. Daryl and Merle were the only ones to know the meaning of the invasive plant. Philip and Penny were fitting in nicely, the young girl following Jenna around like a duckling.

Philip, before the turn, was an electric engineer, and by the time he was healed, he had small solar generators placed around the courtyard. The generators provided heat for the approaching winter, which was much needed and a light source for the night. That also meant that the mini freezer that claimed the life of Otis and Andrew was up and running, and thus storing the butchered meat for long time storage. That didn’t mean the plastic pots were going unused.

With Jenna’s instruction, the pots were turned into potato planters and tomatoes. The pots were brought inside and stored in an extra cell. The cell became an indoor garden for the winter, growing herbs, the potatoes and tomatoes, a peach sapling that was already starting to bear fruit, a tiny apple tree, and wheat in various pots. The new solar lights were entwined with some vitamin lights for the plants, and so many of the kids enjoyed taking naps in the new garden.

Currently, Philip was working on a washing machine that Merle built from reading a damn book. It looked like a giant plastic barrel attached to a bike. Roy was working on a smaller one that was hand-powered with a crank…it was really a vegetable spinner to remove dirt from potatoes.

Big Tiny was helping Philip repurpose another barrel for another machine as Axel and Oscar went deeper into the prison with Merle to gut the kitchen for supplies. As the large ex-con settled the barrel in place, Jenna appeared. She was more solemn as frost began to gather. But she wasn’t the only one, so no one was truly worried.

“Hey, Jenna.” Philip greeted. Jenna waved. By her thigh, her ugly dog was now near grown, going from Chupacabra to hellhound. Murphy was wearing a harness that was used by the grumpy ram. Attached to the harness by stiff braided leather was a cowhide, casually dragging both Andre and Janie as their mothers worked on the fence.

“Nice look you got going on, Cotton Eye Joe.” Jenna was grinning, a joyous look on her maniacal face. Philip felt the cotton pad on his eye, feeling the grooves of some pen marks.

“What the hell?” removing the padding, Philip balked as drawn in the gauze was an eye. It was sloppily drawn, most likely by one of the kids. Big Tiny was laughing.

“I wonder which kid did this?” Philip asked, a bit humored by the drawing. Big Tiny was giggling.

“I bet either Penny or Eliza.” Jenna piped up. Murphy sat down, bored, allowing the two toddlers to play with his thick short fur. Philip shook his head, laughing.

“It’s nice that the girls are relaxed enough to doodle.”

~~~…

Rick had some of the peach trees already planted in a protective pattern, using the trees to support the fence. The walker guards were calm As a few chickens roosted under their limbless bodies. Sarah and Michonne were adding another walker to the fence. Thanks to the limbless ones, the other walkers were avoiding the area, although some still moved around nearby due to the livestock. Thanks to the reinforced fence, it wasn’t too much of a problem. He finished his section and shyly shuffled over to the oldest Redfern sister. He cleared his throat for her attention. Sarah turned as she was weaving some willow branches through the fence for both shade, vine holds, and reinforcement.

“Hey Sarah, after this…want to join me for a picnic?” Rick asked. Nearby, Michonne was chortling at his stupid attempt on asking the curvy woman for a date. Sarah was chuckling at the attempt.

“Sure. A picnic would be nice. Better than nothing these days.” she replied. Rick grinned, pleased.

“Great. Jenna found black sapotes on a foraging trip, and brought back a few branches to grow in the indoor garden, why don’t we enjoy lunch in the indoor garden?” Rick asked. Sarah chuckled at the stammering moron.

“…I’m mucking this up, aren’t I?” Rick pouted. Sarah laughed again.

“I think it’s cute how you are so nervous.” Behind the two, Michonne laughed once more. And Sarah loved the rosy hue on Rick’s embarrassed face. She decided to add to his misery by giving him a soft peck on the cheek.

~~~…

Daryl was wrapped in a poncho while he stood on watch. Jenna was holding a thermos of some hot sassafras tea while she joined him. It started snowing as the sun faded away.

“Pretty. How much does it snow here in Georgia?” Jenna asked her older lover. Daryl looked down at the livestock, they had to butcher two more steer, so it was starting to thin. Jenna found a recipe for blood cakes, so the blood was also being used. Some of the cows were growing round with calf from one of the bulls, and so was the damn bison. Apparently, it was a cow as well.

“How come no one realized the damn buffalo was female?” Daryl joked. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, balancing the stick on his lips as he watched some of the cows huddle together as it continued to snow.

“Probably because no one has had the balls to truly check. I’m going to ask the kids to give her a name.” Jenna took a sip of the tea. She leaned against Daryl.

“You never answered my question.” she chirped. Daryl laughed.

“About an inch. More or less.” Jenna scoffed.

“That’s not a lot.” Daryl smiled at the girl.

“It is for the Southern States.” both chuckling, they went back to their watch.

“…Lori is gonna have a girl,” Jenna whispered, keeping her forest colored eyes on the horizon. Daryl grunted.

“I guess from your future?” he asked, taking another drag of his cigarette.

“Yep. Do you have any questions about the future?” Jenna asked. Daryl grunted again.

“One. Did you ever find out what happened to my pa?” Jenna scowled in curiosity.

“Your dad? Unless I’m mistaken he died along with your uncle to a walker attack. But that’s some info I never really figured out. His name was William, right? Nickname Buck?” she asked. Daryl kinda growled.

“That’s him. He’s a damn right prick. I hope he is dead.” Daryl spat out, full of venom.

“You know, He’s the reason Merle left in the first place. Merle would have killed him if he didn’t. But if he knew he was gonna turn on your next, he would have taken you along, or at least find somewhere to leave you in safety.” Jenna explained.

“Yeah. Merle and I talked it out a few months ago. His scars are more than mine.”

“Yours are deeper though.” They remained in silence as they looked over the prison yard.

Jenna was feeling bold as the night went on. Already the backs of the cattle had a dusting of snow. She leaned into Daryl’s frame.

“Daryl…I want to…” she trailed. Daryl looked down at the girl, curious.

“You want to what?” he asked. Jenna fretted with her lip.

“I want to take the next step.” she then stood on the tip of her toes to gently nip the beauty mark on his face. Daryl made a yelping sound and bounced back, a bit concerned.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I’m…” he trailed off. Jenna gave him a lewd grin.

“Oh? You have to show me.” she purred. Jenna used her hands to turn his blushing face toward her as she then leaned up to kiss him. Daryl gasped, but slowly melded into the kiss.

“Jenna…” Forgoing his watch, he turned all his attention on the younger woman. He gently grabbed her waist, lifting her soft body up onto the ledge of the outlook. Jenna squeaked as she fought to not look down. He began to nip along her neck, using one of his roughened palms to gently grip onto her plushy thighs. She mewled as he grinded against the crevice of her legs, pressing his pelvis to her own. Jenna wriggled to removed her jeans, pressing them down past her lush ass. The full weight of Daryl pressed on her mound, making her keen.

“Daryl…Please don’t stop,” she whispered. The larger man let out a growl and back off, making Jenna whine. She stopped her wanton cries as Daryl began to undo his fly. He wore no undergarments. Jenna whimpered as Daryl revealed his girth.

He was large. A hell of a lot larger than she thought. He seemed as thick as a water bottle, curved just slightly enough to add to the pleasure. She had to admit…the size was a bit intimidating.

“Holy hell.” she balked. Daryl’s blush seemed to trail down to the base of his thick cock.

“I told ya. I didn’t want to hurt ya.” Daryl mumbled. Jenna slipped down onto her knees, getting level with Daryl’s girth. Her slender hand cupped the flesh, making her lover groan as she caressed the silky steel of his arousal.

“Jenna…” Daryl growled. Jenna reached down between her own legs, parting the cotton that guarded her biggest treasure. She felt the slippery slick of her own arousal. Shuttering as she felt more of her fluid trickle out, she brought her nectar covered fingers up and used it as a lubricant for Daryl. She leaned forward to lick the salty tip. Daryl groaned as her tongue helped coat him and make him slick.

Daryl grabbed Jenna’s shoulder and pulled her up, making her yelp. He crashed his mouth onto hers, groaning as he tasted the faintness of the hot tea and a bit of Jenna’s own love nectar from her lubricating job. He held the younger lover against his chest, moving her slightly so her back was to him. Jenna gasped as she fell forward, her robust chest pressed to the ledge of the roof. Daryl moved her around a bit, hiking her rear up so she was on her tiptoes. She let out a soft squeak as she looked down, a bit off-put by the height. She shivered as he felt Daryl’s rough hands holding her hips.

“I need a bit more of this nectar.” Daryl leaned over to whisper as he plunged two calloused fingered into her quivering pussy. Jenna mewled as he massaged her silky inner walls, making her even wetter than she already was.

“Daryl…I can take it. You can go.” Daryl leaned down to nibbled on her neck as he slowly entered her. Jenna gasped as she felt her body stretch for her lover. She pressed back, enveloping the larger man deeper inside her. Daryl hissed as her vagina held a vice grip on him.

“Damn. You are very tight.” he pressed a bit deeper in, making Jenna cry out softly as she felt her hymen tear completely.

“Shit…I didn’t want to hurt you.” Daryl’s voice was full of remorse. Jenna let out a shudder as she clenched down. Daryl groaned.

“It’s fine Daryl. Don’t stop now. Not while we got this far.” Jenna felt small pinpricks of tears burn her eyes as her body relaxed to fit around Daryl’s girth. 

Daryl was panting as he fought to urge to just pound away at the young woman. He lifted his head enough to scan the yard since they were still on watch. There were no new walkers, and the livestock was huddled for warmth. In the watchtower, Apparently, Glenn and Maggie were getting busy as well. He smirked. He was so going to rip on Glenn in the morning.

“I’m ready. You can continue, Daryl.” Jenna whispered. Daryl rolled his hips, causing her to gasp out. He smiled. She relaxed enough that the sex wouldn’t hurt either of them.

Daryl moved his hands from her waist and enclosed her wrists in his palms as he fell forward. Jenna gasped as Daryl’s broader size covered her from the cold.

Daryl then shuddered as well as her pistoned his hips to hit her ass as he went to work. The younger lover was gasping and moaning as Daryl’s cock went into her more smoothly as her body was producing slicker. Daryl growled and bit her neck, just hard enough that it was going to leave one hell of a hickey.

“Daryl…” she moaned. She turned her head to bite down on Daryl’s forearm, to keep herself from screaming as she felt the build-up of a climax about to crash over her. From the way Daryl was pivoting his hips, he was close, too.

“Jenna...I’m gonna…” Daryl groaned low as he filled Jenna’s freshly fuck pussy. Jenna made a keening moan as she came along. She was panting as she felt her legs tremble. Daryl remained holding her, gently rubbing her dimpled ass with a free hand. He blushed slightly as he could feel his cock twitching.

“…ow,” she whispered.

“I didn’t hurt you too badly?” Daryl asked. Jenna hummed.

“I’ll be sore for a bit, but I’m okay.” Daryl hummed as well, slowly pulling himself out of Jenna. He blushed a little as he felt his spent seed pull out as a sticky strand. He tucked himself back into his jeans, as Jenna gingerly placed hers back over her hips.

“Our watch is almost over…Want to join me claiming a cell?” Jenna asked. Daryl turned the woman around to kiss her on her bitten lips.

“I would be happy to.” Daryl held the woman as she hugged him. He kissed her again. The two then turned back to the remainder of their watch, watching the snow muffle the world around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to break this story into parts, so don't be concerned it says the story is done.


End file.
